A New Meaning
by reptilia321
Summary: After making a very special wish, a boy finds himself transported to Minecraftia ... and in the middle of a conflict that could destroy the very world! Mob Princesses, Pairem, Mutants, and More! Sequel is up.
1. Meaning

He layed down quietly. It wasn't the first time. No, it never is. Whenever someone ponders existence, they tend to do it repetitively.

Tony was one of those people.

No, he wasn't depressed nor angry in the slightest. Just... tired... and maybe a bit sad.

_'Is this all I am? Is this my meaning?' _He thought. He repeated those questions every night, trying to look within himself for an answer. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to be more than a blip on the universal radar. He wanted to mean something to someone out there. Of course, as the eldest of four, he meant the world to his siblings and vice versa, but Tony craved an adventure.

_That _was what he wanted... with every ounce of his being.

And just as fate would have it, Tony looked out his room's window at precisely the right moment. A bright light whizzed across the night sky. _'A shooting star.' _Tony hesitated for a moment before shrugging and kneeling. He wishes, he _prayed_, with every ounce of his being for excitement! Adventure! And most importantly... meaning.

Tony silently finished his wish and layed back down. He scoffed at himself. _'That was foolish. Wishes don't come true.' _He thought before drifting into a deep sleep.

It was later that night when strangeness occurred. The atmosphere of the room suddenly became gloomy, as if the light itself was fading. The air rippled before a mighty portal formed. Tony had no time to wake before he was pulled into the vortex.

Almost immediately after all was said and done, the portal vanished, leaving a now uninhabited room behind.

AN: Sorry this first chapter is so short! They will be longer as I go on!


	2. Blocks?

Tony saw light through his eyelids. He put a hand up to block out the sun. It was only after a few moments he had a sudden realization. _'Wait a minute... _sun_?!' _Tony's eyes flashed wide open and he sat straight up. "What the-"

Blocks. The world was blocks. Trees. Ground. The- _'Wait... is that a pig!?'_ Tony removed his glasses before rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing right. After he put on his glasses, however, the pig was still a block. He looked at himself in hopes of finding normality. He sighed in relief when he saw he was unchanged... although, he felt rather strange. _'Why do I feel so... 2 Dimensional?' _Tony examined himself a bit more and found several other new features: He now wore his signature green shirt and blue jeans but had on a blocky backpack.

Tony was feeling panic settle in. Here he was waking up in an unknown world, with sort of unknown creatures, and he felt as if he was losing his mind. So, he did what any person would do in this situation: he ran.

The boy pumped his legs as hard as he could, passing groves of the blocky trees. _'A forest. I'm in a forest.' _He thought to himself over and over. It was the only thing he could be absolutely certain of. Tony's eyes darted from tree to tree, looking at each one as he ran. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get away from the blocks. "Okay... so I'm not imagining this." He said. Tony had been looking at the surrounding area so much that he forgot to look in front, causing him to run straight into a tree.

The boy fell with a thud before rubbing his head. "I should have been watching where I was going. God, my head... hurts?" Tony looked at where the tree was to find... nothing. The only thing left was a patch of dirt on the ground and... three floating blocks of wood? Tony backed away at first, obviously surprised, but edged back toward the blocks. Tony slowly reached a hand out to touch it, but it suddenly flew at him!

The boy yelped and jumped back in surprise, but the block had already been absorbed by Tony. He looked around his body, hoping to see it attached to him, but panicked when it wasn't. "Oh man! Where could it- wait a sec!" Tony removed his backpack and opened it. Instead of it being a normal backpack, Tony looked inside and saw it was putch black, but a hologram popped up. Tony was surprised, but examined it. Lo and behold, the wood block was right there in a small section. Above it was a picture of Tony himself. Tony shook his head before closing the backpack. He picked up the other wood blocks for later examination. For now, he needed to find a city with actual people... or whatever lives in this world.

Tony walked for what seemed like several minutes and the sun was already coming down. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the dark.

Far off, he saw a few lights. As he neared, Tony saw that the lights were from a small village made of, you guessed it, blocks. Tony finally reached the small town and called out. "Hello? Is anyone there? I... I need some help!"

Suddenly, a strange looking man walked around the corner. "Hm? Hello? Who needs he-" The man stopped as soon as he saw Tony. Tony was equally petrified. The man was completely bald and had a rather large nose. His clothes were brown and his arms were together, like a monk. The villager stared at Tony a few more moments before running off toward where he came from. "H-hey! Wait! Can you help me?" Tony followed, but when he got around the corner, the man was gone. Tony sighed, but then jumped at a sudden coldness on the back of his neck. A coldness _and _sharpness. A voice then spoke, equally cold and sharp. "Do not move or you will be destroyed... Monster..."


	3. The Basics

Tony was frozen in place, too afraid to move. The cold blade at the back of his neck never wavered. "Please... don't..." Tony pleaded. The wielder of the blade put a bit more pressure on it. Tony closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

"Stop!" A voice cried. Tony opened his eyes and saw the source of the voice. It was another villager, but this one was wearing a pink robe. "Release him." He said. The weilder put more pressure on the sword. "Father! Do you not know what this is?"

The pink villager nodded. "I do. That is a human." He said. "Nonsense! The humans don't look anything like him!"

"My Son, listen to reason. Does this boy have the flesh of a zombie? The fire of a blaze? The destruction of a creeper? You would have been destroyed already if so. Please, release him." The villager pleaded. Tony's attacker reluctantly lowered his weapon. It was only now Tony realised he'd been holding his breath. He sighed.

The pink villager stepped forward. "Are you hurt, My Child?" Tony shook his head. "Ah, no. I'm fine... thank you Mr...?"

"You may call me Father."

"Oh! You're a preist?"

"Yes. I am this village's spiritual adviser on the Aether."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Aether?"

The priest gave Tony a long look before saying "Come with me."

Tony followed, but looked back and saw his attacker for the first time. It was another villager, but this one wore a black apron and wielded a shining iron sword. He gave Tony a glare that made the boy look away.

Tony was seated patiently inside the priest's home. The priest was walking around the room going to a stove, then a chest, then a weird countertop. After a few minutes, the priest brought Tony a plate of square cookies. The boy examined them before taking a bite. _'Hm... at least the taste isn't different.' _He thought as he began eating the snacks. The priest sat across from Tony. "Tell me, My Child. Where are you from?" He asked. Tony looked up from his snacks. "I'm from the U.S." He said. He decided to be vague to make sure he wasn't in a completely different country. Unfortunately, the priest's answer told him something far worse. "I don't believe I've heard of this 'U.S.' Where, may I ask, is it?"

Tony sighed. "Nowhere near here, I'm assuming."

Tony told the priest about his day: Waking up in a strange new world, breaking a tree with an accidental slam, and everything in between up until the present moment. The priest listened patiently. Tony looked at his audience's face and sighed. "Ah, you probably think all of this is crazy. _I _think all of this is crazy!" He said. The priest shook his head. "Be calm, My Child. I believe you. Tell me, what is your name?"

"My name is Tony."

"Ah... Tony. I believe your story, but I don't believe you were sent here for no reason." Tony raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asked. The priest remained silent before standing and walking to the other end of the room, looking out the window. "Tony, I know not of your own world. However, this world is by far more dangerous, especially to those who don't know its ways. The creatures here have abilities they use to hunt down us villagers and the other humans. Even more terrifying, their leaders have unimaginable power. In fact, they look a lot like you."

"Is that why that guy attacked me?" Tony asked. The priest nodded and walked over to a bookshelf. "Tell me, Tony, do you still have those wooden blocks you obtained earlier?" He asked. Tony nodded before putting his backpack on the table.

The Father gave Tony a small journal and pen. Tony listened as the priest began explaining the rule of this world he was in: Minecraftia. Tony listened and jotted down the basics of mining, crafting, and mobs. There were many other topics, but the priest covered only the basics of everything. Tony knew he could figure it out later. Bybthe time they were done, Tony felt he finally had a grasp on the situation... though it wasn't a tight grasp.

The priest offered Tony a bed to sleep in for the night and he gladly accepted, falling asleep almost an instant after hitting the pillow. The last thing he remembered thinking was that the bed was unusually comfortable, even if it was a square...

The Villager who attacked Tony earlier watched the boy from a window. He kept his sword at the ready, in case this creature tried something. The villager was so focused, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the priest. "My Child, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Father. I'm just... I want to be sure."

"Be calm, he is not dangerous. He is just a lost boy who needs guidance."

"Even so, if he tries anything, the golems and I will be on him like mushrooms on soup." The villager said. The priest chuckled before retiring back to bed.


	4. An Explosive Attack

Tony's eyes snapped open at the sound of an explosion. He quickly sat up. "What the...?" Tony looked out a window and saw villagers running in chaos. He quickly jumped out of bed toward the door, but not before noticing the priest was nowhere to be found.

Tony ran up to one of the panicking villagers. "Hey! What's going-" The villager screamed and ran off before the boy could finish. "Oh, right." Tony said. Instead, he ran toward the source of the chaos.

After rounding a corner, Tony saw the cause of the commotion: a large green monster was attacking the town! It was about as tall as the villager's houses! It's head rested on a long neck leading to a spider-like body. Its skin looked like it was grassy and its face looked depressed. Currently, the creature was fighting with other strange creatures. They appeared to be iron villagers! Joining them was the villager who had attacked Tony last night. "Hyah! Begone!" He said. The creature roared before spinning its neck around, pushing back the iron villagers and successfully launching the villager. Tony quickly ran to his aid. "Are you alright? What is that thing?" He asked. The villager looked dazed, but shook his head. "It-its a monster beyond imagination. Let me- Argh!" The villager tried getting up, but fell back down in pain. "My leg! It's broken! There's no time to get a health potion... please, take this." He handed Tony his iron sword. "Wha? Me? Fight _that_? I... I can't-"

"You _must_." The villager pleaded.

Tony looked at the villager, then at the monster and its fight against the iron ones. Tony nodded before lifting the sword. He ran forward. "Hyaaa!" He cried. The green monster roared before spinning its neck once again, slamming into Tony and sending him crashing into a villager home, breaking some blocks in the process.

"We're doomed." The villager said.

Tony sat up and shook off his daze. He picked up the sword. _'Okay... the direct approach is not working. Think! Where's its weakness!?' _Tony hid behind the ruined wall and examined his enemy. Suddenly, he zeroed in on its head. "That could work."

The creature jumped high into the air before landing back onto the ground, causing a large explosion and tearing chunks from the ground! The last iron golem had been defeated. The creature set its sights on the downed villager.

Tony waited. He was on the roof of a house, waiting for the creature to come closer. Tony held the sword tight in his grasp. He began to count.

"3."

It stalked toward the villager.

"2."

It let loose a roar.

"1."

Tony jumped.

He landed on the creature's neck and stuck the sword into its skull. The monster stiffened before going limp. Tony smiled. "I... I did it! Woo! Yes!" However, his smile fell when the creature began blinking white. "What the-" He suddenly remembered the previous explosion. "Look out!" Tony jumped toward the downed villager and both began rolling. That was when the monster exploded.

Tony stood and looked at the aftermath. The immediate area was totalled. The monster left a huge crater in the ground and some houses were either half gone or completely obliterated. Out of their various hideaways, villagers poked their heads out, seeing the danger had passed. They all walked around before surrounding Tony. "Did... _you _take out that monster?" One asked. Tony nodded.

Silence fell upon the area until cheers broke out. "All hail the town savior!" They chanted. Tony felt a poke on his shoulder. He turned and saw "Father? Where have you been? Are you alright?" Tony asked. The priest nodded. "Be calm, My Child. I am fine. I was hiding with the others. I am deeply sorry for leaving you, but my people needed me in a panic." Tony nodded in understanding.

"I ,too, am sorry."

Tony turned and saw the attacker villager being supported by his comrade. "I apologize for treating you to such mistrust when we first met. Despite my ignorance, you still offered aid. I applaud you." He said. Tony smiled as the villagers continued cheering.

A short while later, reconstruction began in the village. Tony was in the priest's home, sitting at the table. "So that thing was a creeper?" Tony asked. The priest shook his head. "No. That was... something else. Something beyond the average creeper... a mutant." Tony raised an eyebrow. "Mutant?"

"Yes. It had powers beyond the average exploding creeper. But it's not the only one. Skeletons, Zombies, and Notch knows what else. This is the 3rd time a mutant has attacked our town." The priest said. Tony looked out the window. "Where do the mutants come from?" He asked.

"No one knows. However, we suspect the rulers."

"Rulers?"

"The Mob Rulers. They've been feuding with the villagers, humans, and _our _rulers for quite some time. Their ancestors and our ancestors all leading to us."

Tony thought for a moment. "Where are these rulers?" The priest looked at Tony. "My Child, you aren't planning on facing those cretins, are you?" Tony stood. "It's like you said: I am here for a reason. This could be it. I'm going to find these rulers and reason with them."

The priest sighed before walking to his bookshelf and pulling out a paper: it was a map. "You're going to need to go to The Village of Shade."


	5. A Shady Place

"This is incredible." Tony said, looking at his map. He was awed at how the small marker on the map moved and turned whenever he did so.

He had been walking straight for quite some time. The village priest had told him to do so. He had crossed a grassland, a forest, and was now approaching a desert. He was ready to give up until he scaled a tall sand dune and gasped. In front of him was a large village. The houses were all made of stone and surrounded a large palace in the center. However, that was not what amazed him. The entire village was covered by a massive roof of stone. Tony saw that there were no supports or anything to hold up the massive shelter. It just... floated. _'No wonder it's called the Village of Shade.'_

As he neared the village, he noted how dark it was inside. Torches lit up certain areas, but the majority of the village was pitch black. Tony breathed before grabbing a torch from the wall and stepping into the dark.

It was quiet and gloomy. However, Tony could not get over the smell: It was as if something died here and hadn't been moved in weeks.

That was only half correct.

Tony jumped a bit as a moan broke through the darkness. A green cube-human stepped out of the shade, arms outstretched. _'Zombie.' _Tony thought, unsheathing his sword. Heo backed away and prepared to attack, but another moan broke the silence.

And another.

And another.

It wasn't long before Tony was outnumbered. The zombies he could see were closing in while the ones in the dark were probably doing the same. Suddenly, they stopped. Tony raised an eyebrow until he heard a deep, gurgling sound behind him. Tony turned and saw a tall, black figure looking down at him with purple eyes. _'E-enderman!' _He panicked.

Before he could even raise his sword, a pain in the back of his head caused everything to go dark.

"Who is he?" A voice spoke. Tony could only see inky blackness. A void with voices echoing.

"What does it matter who he is? _What _he is is human! We need to destroy him!"

"Are you an idiot? Look at him! He isn't like the other humans! He seems more like us-"

"We are NOTHING like this filth!"

"Hold up! His appearance may have something to do with our problem."

Tony groaned and shook from his sleep and his eyes fluttered open. He tried to block out the light, but found he couldn't move his hands. After his eyes adjusted, he saw why: Two endermen were holding his arms on either side of him. His gear was gone. Tony looked around the room to find a table surrounded by seated people. They were all staring at him in... confusion? Awe?

_Hatred? _

After a few moments of silence, one of them stood. "Who are you?" She was a young woman. She was scantily clad and wore a skull hat. Her hair was dark gray. Tony was about to answer when another voice broke out. "Forget that! _What_ are you!?" He spat. This one was male, possibly a few years younger than Tony. He wore a greenish shirt and blue pants, both tattered. His hair was bright green. Tony gulped. "I-I am a human. My name is Tony."

The green boy stomps towards Tony. Tony sizes up his new acquaintance. The boy is extremely thin. His limbs seem skinny. It looked as though Tony would have the upper hand in strength. _'But looks can be deceiving.' _As the boy steps closer, Tony's nostrils are blasted with the same horrid smell from earlier. Tony decides to break the silence. "Are... are you the mob rulers?" The green boy glared. "Who's asking?"

"I was in a village earlier today when a monster attacked it!"

"A... monster?" The skull-hat girl asks.

"Yes! It looked like a creeper, but larger and more... dangerous."

"What happened to it?"

"I... er... killed it." Tony said, looking down, waiting for a reaction.

The green boy began to laugh in disbelief while one of the table's denizens stood, slamming her hands on the table. She wore a green creeper jacket and short shorts. "I knew this was going to happen! My poor subjects are being manipulated by Notch knows who! We need solutions!" The green boy held up a hand. "Patience, Cupa! Let's focus on our current situation." He turns to Tony. "Let me get this straight: you and those village scum blame us for that mutant attacking, so you thought you could just waltz right in here and kill us?" He said.

_'Mutant?'_ Tony was taken back by that, but kept his composure. Tony grinned. "Close, but no cigar. I came to negotiate." Now it was everyone else's turn to be taken back. The green boy scoffed. "Negotiate? What makes you think beings like us would listen to a _human_?" He asked. Tony smirked. "Well, you've never seen someone like me before, right?"

"True, but how do we know you're not just some mutant human weapon?"

Tony sighed. "I'll tell you. Just let me get my things and I will tell you everything."

"Ha! Do you think we're idiots? As if we'd let you-"

"Let him." A monotonous female voice said. Tony saw the source of the voice was a girl. She looked like a human girl, but her eyes were snow white. Her face show no emotion.

The green boy turned. "H? Are you kidding me?" The girl stared at him continuously until the boy sighed. "Fine. Bring him his things."

Tony strapped on his backpack and sheathed his sword as the endermen guarded him. He was standing before the large table. Being closer, he got a better look at the rulers. "Okay. I guess I'll start from when I woke up..."

And so he began recounting his story so far.


	6. Slime Time

It was quite the turn of events; one moment Tony was staring at a crowd of monsters who could kill him in seconds. The next moment he was being escorted to a room.

After telling his story, the mob rulers decided on his fate.

_"If you are telling the truth," the skull-hat girl said. ", then it is apparent that you may be of some use to us." _

_"You're joking, right? He's just a human. How can we possibly use him? Besides, isn't it a little farfetched that he just _appeared _out of thin air?" The green boy said. The green girl scoffed. "More farfetched than him being around without us knowing?" The green opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. _

_"Besides, I have a plan for him." The skull-hat girl said. She looked at the white-eyed girl. "H, can you take him to one of the spare rooms?" The girl stared for a moment before nodding. _

Tony remembered his sigh of relief as he had narrowly escaped death. Now, however, he was being taken to a spare room in a monster village under the guidance of the rulers of mobs. _'Out of the frying pan...' _Tony thought.

The walk was silent. Tony felt a bit awkward. He wanted to make small talk, but felt it would be unwise. The last thing he wanted was to offend someone who could tear him apart.

But he had questions.

Tony cleared his throat, then spoke. "What is this place?" The girl hesitated before speaking. "This is the Village of Shade, but I'm sure you already know that. This place is a meeting place for the mob rulers. Usually, we would live at our own homes in our own areas, but... _circumstances_ have changed that." Tony eyed the girl. "So, what do you rule? I can tell those others ruled zombies, creepers, etc. But..." He trailed. "I have the appearance of a human, but I'm something else. Something you don't want to trifle with. This is your room." She said in a flat tone. Tony shuddered at her casual threat. He hurried inside, but she grabbed his shoulder. "One of us will retrieve you when we're ready. Don't do anything stupid." She warned. With that, the girl left.

Tony closed the door and sat on the bed, sighing. _'I hate to admit it, but that zombie kid is right. I'm just a human. What could several of the strongest beings in Minecraftia want with me?' _Tony laid on the bed. There were no windows in the room and a single lamp shined. As he lay, his mind wandered until he found himself thinking of his family. This followed a mental self scolding for not thinking of them sooner. _'How could I just forget about them? I really am a bad person.' _His brain threw thoughts in and out of his head. Why didn't I worry about them? Are they worried about me? Should I be trying to find a way home? Where would I even start? Questions crossed his mind until he got a headache, but soon fell victim to slumber...

Tony's eyes snapped open to a loud slurping sound. He sat straight up and looked around the room. Nothing. "Probably just a dream." He told himself. That was until he heard it again. Tony looked around the room, but found nothing. He shrugged and was about to lay back down when he heard a yelp then a red and green slime pile fell in front of him. "Ah!" Tony jumped on the bed. The red pile glowed like lava while the green pile made slurping noises.

Then they moved.

The piles began to grow and get taller. Tony watched in curious horror as the piles became more humanoid. Finally they took shape.

"Nice going, Mire! You just _had _to move your big butt in the way!" One being said. She was gray with glowing, red hair while the other was bright green. Tony noticed they were two of the rulers sitting at the table. The green one scoffed. "Yeah right, Slag! If you hadn't squirmed so much, we wouldn't have fallen!" The girls continued to argue, only increasing Tony's confusion. "Hey! Hey!" The girls looked at him. "Who are you guys and what are you doing in here!"

The girls blushed. "Sorry about that. My hot-headed acquaintance here was just so impatient." The green one said. The redhead was about to say something, but grumbled instead. Tony scooted back on his bed, nervously. "Impatient? What exactly are-" The green girl leaned in to Tony's face. "What a-are you doing?" He asked. She put a hand on either side of his face. Tony noted that they felt cold and wet, but not uncomfortably so. The girl turned his head from one side to another. "I'm examining you. We don't see many people our age around here." She said. After a moment, she backed away. "What do you mean? Aren't you guys, like, the rulers of your lands?" Tony asked. The girls giggled. "Of course not! We're rulers in training! Our big sisters rule while we stay in all day to learn the basics. We're only here because our big sisters want us to watch our baby sisters." The redhead says. "Sounds boring." Tony replied. These girls weren't a threat. They probably just wanted to ask some questions. Tony felt a bit more relaxed.

Well, as relaxed as you can be when two slime creatures break into your room to study you.

Tony sighed. "What are your names?" He asked. The green one stepped forward. "I am Mire. Junior Ruler of all slimes!" Then the redhead stepped forward. "And I am Slag. Junior Ruler of all magma cubes!"

Tony smiled at their apparent pride and confidence in their titles. His smile faded, however, when Mire approached him. "You're name is Tony, right? As I said, we don't see many others our age. And you're a human no less!" She said. Tony's nervousness was returning. "S-so... are you going t-to ask q-questions? I'd b-be happy to a-answer them." He stammered, trying to regain control of the situation. Mire got closer, but Tony continued to scoot back... until his back hit the wall. Mire crawled toward Tony. "We don't have any questions right now, but we'd like to have a more... hands-on approach." Slag grinned as Mire got closer to Tony.

And closer... and closer... until-

"What is going on here!" A voice shouted. Mire paused as everyone looked toward the door to see the skull-hat girl. Slag laughed nervously. "Oh! Skelly! N-nothing! We're just-"

"Stop bothering the human! Get out!" The skull-hat girl, Skelly, yelled. Mire was nose-to-nose with Tony. "Don't worry, we'll be seeing you later." She said before getting back up.

Mire and Slag shot Tony a mischievous look before exiting. Tony shuddered and sighed. "Thank you."

Skelly smiled kindly. "We have come up with a plan. Come with me."


	7. Bait & Switch

"You never told me why you guys need me." Tony asked. He was currently walking with Skelly toward the meeting hall. Skelly smiled. "Don't worry. You'll find out." Tony smiled. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a certain trust build in this girl.

It wasn't long until they reached the meeting hall. The rulers were still sitting around the table. Tony saw Slag and Mire and shuddered at the looks they gave him. Tony stood in front of the table while Skelly went to her seat. "Tony, we have come up with a plan, but first, we'll need confirmation that you won't outright betray us." Tony kneeled. "You can trust me." Skelly smiled. "Good. Here's the plan..."

_'Why did I agree to this?' _Tony thought as he stood in the middle of a desert clearing. The rulers weren't too far away, watching him.

_"You've probably already figured out that the mutants aren't our doing. We can't even control them! The plan is to have you wait in a clearing near here where some of the mutants have been showing up. If you attract one, we're all gonna come in and ambush it!" _

Tony was feeling pretty nervous about this plan. The only reason he defeated that creeper mutant was pure luck. This time he's head on. At least he had the help of the rulers, though. That zombie ruler had the weirdest grin on his face as they left though. Tony was still deep in thought as a screech broke through the air. Tony quickly looked behind and almost screamed. Just a little ways off, looking right at him, was a mutant. It looked like an enderman, but was extremely tall with two long arms and legs. Purple particles floated around its body. As it got closer, two more arms sprouted from its body as it screeched. Tony was a bit unnerved, but withdrew his sword. He noticed something strange, however:

The rulers didn't move from their spot. Tony began to sweat as the creature was getting closer and closer.

They still didn't move.

Finally, Tony moved out of the way just as a giant fist swung at him. He looked at the rulers, who just watched him. No emotion, even Skelly.

Tony wasn't fast enough. The monster slapped him away. He landed a few yards away. "Ow... w-what are they-" The Endermutant stalked forward as Tony stood up. He held out his sword and ran at the creature... but everything went dark. He wasn't knocked out, but he couldn't see. He swung his sword wildly, but kept getting pushed by an unseen force. The blindness ended, but Tony got another shock of fear. He was face to face with the creature, whose mouth was wide open. His arms grabbed Tony and threw him. He landed a bit closer to the mob rulers. His sword landed in the ground next to him. He looked up at the rulers. They all looked at him as if he were scum. Well, all except Slag and Mire, who looked worried. Tony slowly got up. He could feel the ground shaking and knew the monster was coming. _'They... tricked me...' _He grabbed his sword. By the feel of it, he was banged up pretty bad. _'I... can't do this alone...' _Tony faced the Endermutant and stood steady. The creature was closing the gap pretty fast. Tony held his sword and ran... but was held back. He looked and saw that his arm was covered in green slime. "Tony!" Mire pulled the boy back just as the creature slammed a fist down. The rulers were stunned. "Mire! What are you doing!? He's a human! Let him die! He'll just respawn anyway!" The zombie ruler yelled. Mire ignored them and stood by Tony. "Hey! Don't forget me!" Slag called. "W-why?" Tony asked. The girls smiled. "We already told you. You're the only guy our age around here. It wouldn't be right to kill a friend like that!" Mire said. "Also, we weren't filled in on this part of the plan while we tried examining you." Slag explained. Tony blushed, but stood with sword in hand. The mob rulers watched as the three faced the monster.

Mire ran at the creature. It tried swiping at her, but as soon as its fist connected, Mire stuck to it. The creature roared, giving Slag a chance to latch on to its other arm. Her lava skin burned the monster. Tony went behind the creature and stabbed its leg. The Endermutant screeched and threw its third arm back. Tony quickly moved out of the way. The monster tried teleporting, but only brought Mire and Slag with it. "Tony! If you're gonna do something, _now _would be a good time!" Slag yelled. Tony nodded and examined the monster. He couldn't see any obvious weaknesses, excluding the head, but there was no way to get to it.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

Tony ran around out of the monster's sight while it was distracted fighting Mire and Slag. He made sure to aim before running fast. _'Just one shot...' _

Chop!

The creature's arm fell, detached from its body. It screeched loudly and threw Mire and Slag away. Then, it disappeared. Tony breathed. _'That's the second time I've needed a sneak attack to beat one of these things. That's either extremely lucky or extremely humiliating.' _Tony fell to the ground, adrenaline wearing off. Now he felt pain all over. "Great, I'm the Human Bruise." He told himself. Slag and Mire helped him up. "Looks like that mutant's been _disarmed_!" Slag said, looking at the arm. Tony chuckled. "Slag. Mire. Get over here."

The trio looked and saw the rulers stepping forward. Tony kept his sword raised. "You lied to me." He said. Skelly scoffed. "Don't act so surprised. What did you expect?" She said. Tony was taken back. It was as if she was a completely different person. "You are a human. What would it matter to us if you died? You'd just respawn and kill our subjects." Skelly spat. Tony raised an eyebrow. "Respawn?"

"Oh, that's right! You're not from this world! Then all the better. You'll probably die permanently. One less human to deal with."

Tony felt anger rise, but knew better to act on it. He stood no chance against the Rulers of Mobs.

Not all at once.

"How could you say that? Tony's nice." Mire said. Her older sister stepped forward. "Mire. I command you to get over here." Mire hesitated and looked at Tony before obeying. Slag was ordered to do the same. Tony walked over to the ender arm. He brought his sword down and sliced off a chunk of the arm. "And what are you going to do with that?" The zombie boy spat. Tony put the ender arm in his inventory. "I'm taking this back with me for examination."

"Oh no you're-"

"Let him, Yaebi. It doesn't matter." Skelly said. The zombie boy opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. Tony turned to walk away, but stopped. "Mire. Slag." He smiled at them. "Thanks."

With that, he began his trek back to the village.


	8. Respawn

"Well, what is it?" Tony asked. He was in Father's house. The priest was looking closely at the ender chunk Tony had taken. "I cannot say, My Child, but I do sense a sinister energy within this. You may have another journey ahead of you."

"What do you mean?"

The priest took Tony's map and drew a small "x" on it. "This is the castle of our rulers. It is a treacherous journey, about two days from here, but I have my utmost faith in you. Take your finding to them." He said. Tony took the map, but felt another question pull at him. "Father... what's respawning? I heard one of the mob rulers say it." He asked. The priest sat. "Well, My Child, respawning is when a creature comes back to life."

"That can happen?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't it? Oh my... tell me, Tony. If someone died in your world, didn't they..."

"No. In my world dead things stay dead." Tony said. The priest looked down grimly. "Hm... in that case, you should use caution. The rules of this world may not apply to you in appearance and I fear death would be the same." He warned. Tony looked down at the table. "Does... does _everything _respawn?"

"Well, there are exceptions. Animals generally stay dead, their souls forever going into the Aether. Us Villagers, however, want to go to the Aether. I see that look on your face. No, we don't condone suicide. Villagers are a spiritual people, in that we wait for our natural deaths at the hands of age or mobs to go to the Aether. It is very rare to see us respawn at will."

Tony looked at the villagers outside the window. _'Well they _do _bear resemblances to traditional monks.' _He thought. The priest continued.

"Mobs can respawn, unfortunately. They don't need to mate, yet some do it anyways, making baby zombies and spiders. Indeed, they heavily outnumber us." Tony decided to add all of this information to his notebook. "What about the cube humans?" He asked. The priest smiled. "I bless them. They have a choice. When a cube human dies, they can choose to either respawn or remain in the Aether forever. Only the mightiest warriors have chosen to respawn." Tony's mind flashed to his previous battles. "And the mob rulers?" He asked. The priest frowned. "They are the same as the mobs they command. They are pure evil that can never reach the Aether. They respawn. Unfortunately, that fate befalls our rulers as well." Tony remembered Slag and Mire aiding him, but didn't mention it. He weighed his fate. _'Alright. So nothing stays dead for long here... except _me _because I'm an alien? Unfair.' _

Tony grabbed his backpack. "I should be going. If it takes as long as you say to get there, I'm going to need supplies."

"But of course! This village is still indebted to you for your heroics. Just name what you need, My Child."

Tony didn't ask for much; just a bed, some food, and an extra sword and pickaxe. He made the journey to the castle, but not without its hardships. He scaled mountains and braved dark forests. For two days, he traveled and hid from the mobs that stalked the night. _'As little conflict as possible. I don't want to risk getting a one way ticket to the Aether.' _

Though he made sure to keep himself hidden, he couldn't help but feel... watched. It was as if he was constantly followed. He chalked it up to standard paranoia.

After two long, difficult days. Tony finally made it. In front of him was the largest castle he'd ever seen.

Well, the _only _castle he'd ever seen.

Tony stepped forward and knocked on the door. From inside, a voice answered. "Coming!"

The castle doors opened. Tony smiled. "Hello, I have some important infor-" He stopped as a large fist punched him, launching him several feet away. Winded, Tony looked at his attacker. It was a large woman, a good few feet taller than him! Her body looked robotic and grey, but her eyes were alive... and glowing red. "Mob spotted. Preparing to _**destroy**_."

Tony scooted back in a panic. "Woah! Hey! I'm not a mob!" He said. The metal girl stalked forward, fists clenched. Tony tried to get up, but the girl broke into a full sprint. Tony rolled out of the way just as she slammed her fist down. "Hey! Did you hear me?" He yelled. The metal girl ignored his cries and gave chase. Tony yelped and ran with all his might. He didn't get far before the girl caught up and slapped him aside. He slammed into a tree. _'She's too strong. My sword can't pierce her if she's made of metal! What do I do?' _He thought. Tony's body was in intense pain, that last hit obviously bruising a few bones. He tried getting up, but fell back down. The metal girl walked forward. "Please..." Tony said. She didn't listen. When she was close enough, she reared her foot back and kicked, causing Tony to black out...

Tony's eyes fluttered open. The last thing he remembered was his K.O. from the metal girl. He tried to get up, but cried out. _'Yep! That's broken! Ow! And that! Ow! That is also broken!' _

"Oh my! You're awake! Just a moment." A voice said. Tony slowly turned his head to see a girl rummaging through a chest. It wasn't the metal girl, this one was all alive. When she turned around, Tony got a better look at her. She had orange hair and bright green eyes with glasses. She was clothed in a white robe. As she walked towards Tony, he saw she was holding a jar of purple liquid. "Now, hold still. You're probably in a lot of pain right now. Please remain calm and drink this." She held it to his lips. Tony drank slowly and began to feel a shift in his body. His bones cracked as they shifted back into their proper positions. His cuts and scrapes healed up. Tony felt his body become rejuvenated.

After a minute or so of this, Tony felt fine again. He slowly sat up and was pleased to find all of his pain gone. "What... what was that?" He asked. The girl smiled. "It was a Regeneration Potion. You should be feeling a lot better! Sorry about Ingot. She thought you were one of those mob rulers." She said.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Atlas. What is your name? May I ask what brings you here?"

"My name is Tony. I have come seeking the help of the rulers here. Are you one of them?"

The girl smiled and nodded. "Yes, indeed! I am part of the Villager Council _and _the top librarian in all of Minecraftia! Are you a ruler? You certainly aren't a mob." She leaned closer to Tony, examining his face. He blushed. "I'm not a ruler. I'm just a human." He said. Atlas gasped. "A human? But you look nothing like the others. Well, now I feel hypocritical. Ha!" Tony smiled. "Can you take me to the others?" Atlas nodded. "Come with me."


	9. Deja Vu

Tony marveled at the extravagant corridor. It was adorned with stone and red carpet. Paintings hung on the wall. Tony looked up and saw the high ceiling. Atlas noticed his awe. "You seem impressed. Haven't you seen a castle before? You had to have at least made one yourself." She said. Tony scoffed. "I doubt I could make one like this. I'm still new to all of this." Atlas raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain when we get there."

Atlas made Tony wait just outside the door to the Council Room while she went in. Tony put his ear to the door and listened.

"Atlas, is he awake?"

"Ah, yes... and he's here."

"What!? _Here_!? You were supposed to wait until we sent Ingot to escort you. Next you're gonna tell us you healed his wounds."

"..."

"Oh my Notch! You didn't!"

"He's not dangerous!"

"Calm down, Saber. We should hear out this newcomer. Besides, Ingot is here should he try anything."

"I say he should get quarantined."

Tony was having a strong case of deja vu. This was how his visit to Shade Village started. Well except for there being a metal woman rather than a zombie army and endermen.

Both had the same result, however.

It wasn't long before Atlas came back to the door. She smiled, sweetly. "Okay, they're ready. Watch out for Saber, though. She's a bit tense." She said. Tony didn't know who Saber was, but knew he was about to find out. He followed Atlas inside.

Tony stood in front of a tall table. It reminded him of a Supreme Court. The denizens of the table were all female with orange hair and green eyes. However, each was wearing a different color. Next to them was the metal girl. Tony cleared his throat. "Um... hello. I'm-"

An arrow suddenly landed in the floor only a few inches in front of him. The girl who shot it wore a black apron. It reminded him of the other villager he met who attacked him. _'A blacksmith? Do they _all _have short tempers?' _Tony thought, still stunned.

The other girls glared at the blacksmith. "Damn it, Saber!" A girl in a green dress said. Saber scoffed. "Calm down. It was just a warning shot." She looked at Tony. "But if you do anything shifty, you'll have an arrow between the eyes!" Tony gulped and nodded. "Yes m-ma'am." He kneeled. "My name is Tony. I come with urgent news about the mutants." The rulers leaned in. A girl wearing a brown robe spoke. "Really? What is it!" Saber raised a hand. "Hold it, Terra." She stood and pointed at Tony. "How do we know you're not a mutant? You don't look like any creature naturally here and you sure don't look like a human!" The girl wearing a green dress sighed. "Saber, we don't look anything like our villagers. The mob rulers don't look like their subjects, either. Maybe he's a human ruler." Tony put his hands up defensively. "Woah! No! I'm not a ruler..." He told them his tale from beginning to end. When he was finished, he waited for their response.

The green dress girl spoke first. "It does sound crazy, but it makes sense as to why we haven't heard of a human ruler. But even if you are from another world, still know that we are in your debt. You saved one of our villages from the wrath of a mutant." Tony smiled. "That's not all. After my second run in with a mutant, I was able to get this." He opened his backpack inventory and pulled out the ender chunk. "It's a slice of a Mutant Enderman's arm. I was hoping you guys may be able to do something with it."

Atlas smiled. "Oh! I can! Bring it here!" Tony did as she said. Atlas examined the chunk before going to a strange looking stand. As she touched it, an interface hologram appeared. She placed the chunk in the uppermost box and closed the interface. Atlas smiled at her comrades. "It's going to take a moment to break down the chunk. While we wait, we should introduce ourselves to Tony!" She said. The green dress villager smiled. "A swell idea, Atlas. I'll start. My name is Rube."

A girl in a purple robe stood. "My name is Grace."

Brown robe girl. "My name is Terra."

White robe girl. "My name is Claret."

Scary black robe girl. "Saber."

The metal girl spoke robotically. "I am Ingot."

Atlas smiled and Tony marveled. _'If I had to guess, their names match their professions. Weird...' _Tony was suddenly shaken from his thoughts by a sudden squeal from Atlas. "It's done! Let's see..." Atlas held a deep purple potion in her hands. "Oh...my..." She set it down in front of the Council. "This is what was extracted from the chunk. We've finally found it. This is Chemical X!" Atlas exclaimed. Tony raised an eyebrow. "Chemical... X?"

"It's the reactant causing all of the mobs to get buffed up!" Terra said. Tony mentally laughed. _'So, I'm guessing there was no sugar, spice, or anything nice in the mutants?' _Grace stood. "Sisters, this potion holds extreme power if it can force the mobs against their own ruler! There is only one being capable of concocting such a sinful thing." Saber frowned. "Hex. That wretch! We should have known. Who else would try this?" She gripped the handle of her sheathed sword. Claret crossed her arms. "If it is her, we should probably go to her directly. Legend has it that she doesn't even attend meetings held by the mobs rulers. There's no way she'd accompany us willingly." Rube nodded. "If we are to face her, it would take considerable planning." Terra stood. "Whoa now! Slow down! Remember, we're only _assuming _that Hex is causing this. We can't wage a full war based on a hunch!" Atlas nodded. "I agree. We need to meet her first. Interrogation. That is the key." Saber scoffed. "The mob rulers have been at our family's throats since forever! Now _you _want to meet with the one ruler who leads our defected villagers?" Atlas nodded. "It's the only way we can find out without immediately threatening her."

Tony listened to all of this in silent confusion. So many questions racked his brain. Who was this Hex? Is she a mob ruler? Which one? Why was Ingot staring at him? As Tony racked his brain, Rube called to him. "Tony, we are very grateful for your help. As a sign of appreciation, we would like to allow you to stay here for as long as you like." She said. Tony was stunned. "R-really? I... I don't know what to say. Thank you!"

The meeting ended and the girls and Tony walked out of the Council Room, chatting, with the exception of Rube and Saber. "Is this a good idea? I mean, we don't know where his loyalties lie. He could stab us in the back at any time." The latter warned. Rube smiled. "He won't. I can't explain it, but I can _feel_ that he's a good person. He can be trusted." She said.

The two watched as Tony and the others laughed. Saber sighed.

"I hope you're right..."


	10. Watching

I've been watching him.

Indeed, ever since he first popped up in this plane of existence. I don't know why I'm watching, but I can't stop. Perhaps I should start from the beginning...

It all began when I was just relaxing in my home... alone. I was used to it. I've been alone for quite some time.

Hm... perhaps that's why I watch.

But I digress. I would not have left my home if I hadn't felt a sudden increase in power outside. I went to investigate.

I didn't have to travel far before I found the source: A large portal was floating in the middle of the air. I quickly hid behind a tree and watched as the portal began to shake and stir. I prepared for the worst, but what I got was different. A boy was spat out of the portal. I winced at the sound of him crashing into the ground.

I decided to take a closer look since he was obviously unconscious. However, as I approached, I noticed something... odd. Yes, he was human, alright, but he wasn't cubed like the rest. He was... well, like _me_! I remember thinking that all humans are the same and I should destroy this one regardless of appearance. I was going to, too, but I hesitated. Even now, I don't know why I did.

As I hesitated, he began to stir. I quickly returned to my place behind the tree. He woke with a start, as expected of someone waking up in a new location. He looked around and looked at himself even. I could tell what was going through his mind. He was panicking, which was even more evidenced by him bolting away.

I decided to pursue this newcomer.

It was obvious he was scared. He looked around ,frantically...

...and didn't notice the tree he was running towards.

I had the sudden urge to call to him, but held my tongue. Why would I warn a human of danger? I should just turn back and head home.

But I didn't.

He hit the tree so hard that it broke into blocks. After he recuperated, he looked at the blocks as if they were the strangest things on the planet.

Just where was this guy from?

I had to stifle a giggle as he panicked after picking up the blocks. As I watched him deduce the whereabouts of the wood, I remember thinking that this guy picked up on things fast. It was then that he walked into the desert. I could have just left him or killed him right then.

I followed again.

I remember asking myself why I cared about what happened to this guy. It wasn't long until he reached a village. I knew this one well: one of my underlings lived here in disguise. In fact, that was the first person he met. Of course, it didn't end well. My subject screamed and ran away while the other villagers apprehended the boy.

Now it was getting interesting.

I made sure to hide as I got closer to the village. Wouldn't want one of the golems to trigger an alarm. I watched the boy through the window and listened to his conversation with the local priest. This was how I learned his name: Tony.

After the conversation, he went to bed. Now, I remember thinking, I can leave.

But I didn't.

I watched him sleep. I _watched _him _**sleep**_. I should have recognized the beginning of my obsession. I watched him and blushed for hours until I realized my situation and questioned it. Why was I watching him? Why was I so interested? I decided to find out. Was this boy a powerful warrior from another world?

So, the next morning, I decided to test Tony. I threw my special Chemical X at a nearby creeper and hid. For a few minutes, the mutant stomped around and decimated the village. I nearly thought Tony fled until he exited his shelter. As I watched the battle, I could see his inexperience. He flailed about and got hit as a consequence. He lacked coordination.

Definitely not a warrior.

I was close to giving up on him and having the monster end it, but then he surprised me. He scaled one of the houses and waited for my creation to stalk past. I thought he was hiding like a coward, but he then jumped and sliced off the mutant's head! I let out an involuntary gasp. I could feel my face heating up at my action.

What was wrong with me?

It was just a bit later when Tony left the village and walked north.

He was going to _them. _

_Willingly. _

Now my curiosity was pushed to its limit. Why would he go to the belly of the beast? Surely the villagers warned him of Shade Village.

Then it clicked.

He was going to talk to the rulers about the mutants... as if it were their doing. I laughed to myself as I watched him walk to and enter the village. All seemed to be going well until the security found him.

Strange. I felt myself fight the urge to rescue him...

I stayed in the dark as I followed the endermen dragging his limp body.

Dead? No, just unconscious.

They took him straight to the citadel. I knew going any further would be risky.

Why did I go anyway?

I threw down a potion of invisibility before following.

He woke in front of the rulers. I half expected them to kill him on sight. I guess his appearance peaked their interest as well.

Except for that ZomBrat Yaebi. He was always hostile towards the humans.

I mean, we all were, but Yaebi's hatred bordered on unhealthy. I was ready to tear him a new one for threatening my Tony.

It was at this point I remember thinking, _MY _Tony?

Where did this possessiveness come from all of a sudden? It had dawned on me that I had asked so many questions to no one but myself today.

I hadn't listened to my former acquaintances as they interrogated Tony. I just watched his face. I wondered how his glasses had remained intact throughout this whole ordeal. It wasn't long until he was brought to one of the spare rooms. There, he slept. There, I watched.

I was so wrapped up in my activity, I didn't hear what finally woke him. He looked around frantically. I was afraid my invisibility had worn off.

Until I heard the sound.

It was a slurping sound. I knew it well. The only girls naive enough to see what they want when they wanted. I looked up to see Slag and Mire hanging from the ceiling. I felt annoyed at the intrusion and quickly jumped up and nudged them.

I had to stifle a giggle as they fell and blamed eachother. Tony could only watch in confusion.

My entertainment soon ended, however, when Mire got on Tony's bed and crawled to him. Slag could only watch as her skin would probably burn Tony alive. I was close to snatching Mire by her hair as she got closer to him.

Suddenly, the door opened. It was Skelly.

I was glad for the interruption, but I was unnerved by Skelly's behavior. She acted so civil. She usually hated humans. I immediately suspected her, but I had no time to stay. My potion was wearing off. I had to step away and use another one.

I caught up to them outside. I gasped. Tony was facing off against one of the mutants I sent there for scouting purposes: the Endermutant. Tony was beaten by the creature badly. He even looked at the other rulers for help. They offered none.

They were gonna let my Tony die!

Tony was on his own until Slag and Mire joined in. He stood a better chance and even chopped my creation's arm off. I was surprised, but still smiled.

Does that make me a sadist?

Tony left the Shade Village with a piece of my creation. We eventually returned to the normal village.

But not for long.

Tony began another trek to the Castle of those blasted village rulers. This trip would take two days. Would I really follow him, unnoticed, for _two days_?

Yes. I don't know why... but I want him. I've grown possessive for reasons I can't explain. I _want _him.

The next two days' journey gave me ample time to get closer to my obsession. At night, when he slept, I crept up to him. I laid down next to him. I didn't feel so alone anymore. I blushed.

On the second day, I woke earlier than usual. I made my temporary bed in a tree and went to sleep. Wouldn't want him finding me and asking questions.

But I was careless.

I fell asleep too long. When I woke and returned to his campsite, he was gone. I lost him.

Damn it.

I ran toward the Castle.

When I got there, I saw Ingot taking a limp Tony inside. She beat him badly. I wanted to rage for what she did to my relieved, but had a better idea. I used another splash potion of invisibility. I quickly followed them inside. Tony was taken to a room and didn't wake until Atlas, the librarian ruler, showed up hours later.

Tony was taken to the Village Council. He stood before them all and told his tale while I stood behind him. Ingot was staring right at me, but she couldn't see me. That was the thing about golems: even when invisible, mobs can be spotted.

The meeting only lasted a short time, but they all had their conclusion: me. It's not safe for me to watch anymore. I must leave, but I know my beloved will find me.

After all, it was fate that I fell for him...


	11. The Witch Hunt

It had been a few days since Tony's "trial" before the Village Council. In that few days, a lot had happened between both the mob rulers and the village rulers. Both factions had been planning their next move. Both had reached the conclusion of going after the witch ruler, Hex.

And, coincidentally, both had decided to make their move _today_.

They met in their respective bases, both unaware of the other's planning. The mob rulers decided to have their own battalions with two rulers leading each and surrounding the witch's domain on all sides. The village rulers and Tony decided to take a more peaceful approach. However, Ingot would lead several golems along in case things got hairy.

The Mobs

Slag and Mire followed their sisters, grudgingly. The older slimes kept a close eye on the surrounding forest while occasionally glancing back at their siblings. Slag grunted. "This is bogus! We're practically adults! We can go on our own!" She said. The older magma cube ruler, Ashley, looked back at them. "And help another human? Yeah, I don't think so." The older slime ruler, Haze, nodded. "I agree. What you two did was reckless and backwards! Humans are the enemies of all mobs! You're lucky you weren't banished." Mire rolled her eyes. "But he wasn't even that bad! He was nice! He didn't hurt us!" Ashley laughed. "Of course he didn't! He knew we'd tear him up! Given another chance, he'd destroy you in an instance, just like his kind always does to our kind!" Slag and Mire thought for a moment before grinning, mischievously. "Let's prove that, shall we?"

Suddenly, a loud roar broke through the forest. Haze and Ashley looked toward the source. "It came from that way! Girls! I want you to-" Haze and Ashley looked back, stunned to see their sisters had disappeared. Ashley literally steamed as she screamed. "GIRLS!"

"Did you hear that?" Cupa, the creeper ruler asked her companion. The ender ruler, Andr, nodded. "Yeah. I think it was Ash. Never mind her, did you hear that roar? One of our acquaintances seems to have found a mutant. Should we offer our aid?" Cupa thought it over for a moment. "I'm sure they can handle it. Remember, we're here to find that blasted witch! When I get my hands on her..." The duo continued on their objective, Cupa still fuming as they walked.

"W-what was that?" The ghast ruler, Misery, said. The spider ruler, Lattice, scoffed. "Who cares? We got a mission to accomplish! What do you think, Lacy?" She barked at the cave spider ruler on her back. The young girl smiled. "Let's wreck em'!" She said. Lattice and Lacy ran at full speed to the witch's hut while Misery held her dress to catch up.

Skelly and Yaebi were trekking through the swampier parts of the forest. "We're close. I can tell. The witch will soon pay for her crimes." Yaebi said. Skelly rolled her eyes. "Don't get a big ego, Dead-Head. We're just gonna casually walk to her home, knock on the door, and shoot an arrow between her eyes. Then, when she respawns, it's indefinite banishment for her." Yaebi pouted for a moment. "I don't see why you get to shoot her. All I need is a good grip on her and I chow down!" Skelly, once again, rolled her eyes. Suddenly, a roar broke through the forest. "Woah! Was that a mutant?" Yaebi said. Skelly nodded. "Most definitely. We need to-"

Yaebi was already dashing toward the noise. Skelly pursued. "For Notch's sake!"

"C'mon! We haven't got all day!" Skelli, the wither skeleton ruler, barked at her companion, the zombie pigman ruler, Hamilton. The girl flinched at her words. "S-sorry. I'm going as fast as I can..." She said. Hamilton felt a tug at her shirt. It was the silverfish ruler, Minny. "Don't worry, Hammy! I'm sure this'll all be over soon!"

That was when the roar came.

Skelli looked toward the noise for a moment before saying, "C'mon." She equipped her bow before advancing toward the noise. Hamilton and Minny gulped before following.

H floated monotonously next to Blazette, ruler of the blazes. The girls flew threw the air, but remained under the treeline to see. Blazette did everything she could to keep the trees from catching fire. "What do you think about all of this, H?" The blaze asked. The white-eyed girl remained creepily emotionless. "I bear no feelings about this, but I do wish to restore the natural order."

"But what if this mutant stuff affects us? Or... _him_?"

H remained silent.

A sudden roar broke their conversation. "It would seem we are needed. You go on. I'll look for the witch." H said, teleporting away before Blazette could argue.

The Villagers

Ingot and several golems surrounded the village rulers and Tony, safely escorting them. Tony made sure to keep his distance from the metal girl having already felt her iron strength. He and Atlas had been speaking for quite some time. The librarian ruler inquired about his world and Tony gave sufficient answers. The other rulers listened as he spoke, but couldn't believe it.

Everything wasn't cubes? Preposterous.

It wasn't long before they reached the home of Hex, the witch ruler. Tony had to admit that the area looked familiar. He remembered: this was near where he first arrived. _'Could Hex have seen me? Probably not. She would have killed me if she did!' _

Saber ran up to the door and banged on it with the hilt of her sword. "Hex! You'd better answer, you worthless wretch! I swear-" The door suddenly opened. In the doorway, a girl stood. Tony looked at her.

She seemed to be around his age, not too far from Slag or Mire's age, either. She looked a lot like the village rulers, but her eyes were glowing purple. She wore a black witch hat with an emerald in the center and a black dress that split on both of her thighs. She smiled, politely. "Hello, dear sisters! How are you on this fine day!"

_'Sisters!?' _Tony thought, shocked.

Hex backed away with a smile as her sisters and Tony entered the home. It was nearly immediately after that Saber held her sword up. "Hex! Tell us about the mutants! Did you send them?" Tony quickly ran between Hex and the blade, holding his hands up defensively. "Whoa! Saber! This is a _peaceful _meeting! Remember?" He said, not seeing Hex's smile and blush. Saber was about to rebuttal, but was interrupted by the strange sight of Hex's arms wrapping around Tony's torso. The boy blushed. "Eh... huh? What are you-"

"Mmm... finally..."

Tony looked at the others in confusion. They gave the same look back, except Atlas who looked a bit ticked. Hex's eyes suddenly snapped open as she stepped back. Tony noticed that her whole atmosphere had changed. Before, she was caring and kind. Now, however, she was cold and calculative. "I can sense them. The others are coming. Tony, dear, you are especially going to enjoy this part."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "How do you know my-" Hex snapped her fingers as a roar broke Tony's words.

Skelly and Yaebi distracted the Mutant Skeleton as it shot a large arrow at them. Behind the behemoth, Ashley and Haze's arms were stretched to their limits as they wrapped around the beast's torso. The mutant gave them no heed as it continued its rampage against the rulers. Skelli and Skelly stood away from the mutant and shot multiple arrows at it, each one having little to no effect. The mutant became angry as it jumped into the air and continuously shot several arrows at the skeleton rulers. They rolled out of the way and continue their assault. The skeleton mutant let loose another staggering roar.

Tony stepped back from Hex. "What was that? What did you do?" The witch smiled darkly. "My dear, I am giving you your vengeance! Don't you want to make those nasty mob rulers pay for what they did to you?" She said, holding her cheeks. Everyone was getting thoroughly freaked out. "How did you know- wait, the mob rulers are here?"

"You bet they are!"

Hex, Tony, and the village rulers looked up to see two balls of slime clinging to the ceiling before they splashed to the ground. They quickly took human form. Tony smiled. "Slag! Mire!" Saber jumped back in surprise. "H-how did they get in here! Ingot!"

The metal girl's eyes glowed. "I am sensing a disturbance in my golems. They seem to be battling several rulers... their victory:defeat ratio is dramatically low." Her eyes kept darting toward Slag and Mire, but her subject's peril outweighed her instincts.

Hex smiled at Slag and Mire. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the two ruler rejects. Are you two still getting tutored?" Visible smoke rose from Slag. "Why I oughta- no! And it wasn't tutoring! We were... instructed." She barked. Hex scoffed. "Whatever! Tell those other wenches I said 'Hi'!" She turned to Tony and winked. "I'll be watching, dear." She blew him a kiss as she threw down a potion and disappeared. Tony shuddered as he felt a light brush against his arm.

"She used an invisibility potion! Don't let her escape!" Saber said. Rube shook her head. "I think we have a bigger problem." She pointed at the door. A lone figure stood. Her brown hair hung over her snow-white eyes. Her tattered clothes covered pale skin.

H was here.

"Where is the witch." She said. Her tone, as always, carried no emotion. Tony stood in front of her. "We don't know. She just disappeared. Why are the mob rulers here?" He noticed that the others, even Ingot and Saber, were backing away from H. The girl tilted her head. "I can ask the same of _them_. There's no time, however. They're here."

"Who-"

A loud roar rung out as everyone looked toward the window opposite the door. A large skeleton mutant barreled out of the forestry with several other rulers in tow. Slag and Mire gasped when they saw their sisters clinging to the creature. Tony's eyes widened, but focused again as he unsheathed his sword and ran out the door.

A voice in the back of his mind squeaked. _'This is not gonna end well.' _


	12. The Enemy of My Enemy

"I don't know how much longer I can hold out!" Ashley yelled, visibly struggling to keep the skeleton mutant bound in her lava-like arms. Haze was also struggling. Yaebi ran around the skeleton, struck it once or twice, then ran again. He repeated this process until the skeleton swung its arm and knocked the zombie boy back.

Skelli and Skelly kept shooting their arrows at the monster, serving as more of a distraction than anything else. Rather than distracting, however, the mutant was getting angry. It charged the skeleton girls and swung an arm. Skelli rolled out of the way in time, but Skelly was a fraction of a second too late.

The skeleton ruler flew into a tree, dazed. The mutant was upon her before anyone could react. Skelly looked around frantically for her bow, but it was thrown a few yards away.

At the moment, it felt like miles.

The skeleton mutant went up to her and reared back its wooden bow, ready to swing it at her. Skelly closed her eyes...

... but opened them when she heard a "Crack!" followed by the sound of a struggle. In front of her, a lone figure stood, sword in hands, uneasily blocking the skeleton's bow. Skelly recognized her sudden savior immediately: it was that human from a few days ago!

The skeleton mutant was visibly struggling now as Ashley and Haze were suddenly aided by Slag and Mire. "Girls! What's going-" Ashley stopped talking when Slag held up a hand. "We're here to bail you guys out, like always! We even got reinforcements!" Slag pointed at Tony while Mire pointed at a new crowd coming forward. The village rulers stood proud and ready for battle.

Tony gritted his teeth as it took almost every ounce of his strength to hold the mutant's bow back, even with the slime rulers holding it back! He looked back at Skelly. "If you're gonna do something, do it now!" The skeleton ruler remained where she was, perplexed, but only for a moment. In the next moment, she sprinted for her bow and quickly shot several arrows into the mutant's eye sockets. The skeleton mutant reared back in pain and roared.

The village rulers stood on one side of the beast while the mob rulers regrouped on the other side. Tony remained in the middle, his face red from exertion. The rulers stared at eachother for a moment before a silent truce was made. This temporary comradery initiated their attacks.

The skeleton mutant was suddenly surrounded. It looked from left to right, trying to decide on a target. Its sockets landed on Atlas and Tony, the former helping the latter to his feet. The mutant quickly reared back an arrow and shot. Atlas squeaked as Tony pushed her out of the way, landing on top of her. The arrow zoomed past them, going through several trees until it hit the ground. Tony gulped.

"Uh, Tony?" Atlas squeaked, red faced. The boy looked down and blushed as he saw where he was. Atlas looked to the side. "There's a time and place for everything..." Tony's face became even redder. "What do you- Look out!" He and Atlas rolled aside as another arrow whizzed by.

By now, the other mob rulers had finished off Ingot's minions and caught up to the situation. Rube and Grace joined Yaebi and Minny in running around the skeleton mutant, trying to offer a distraction. Terra and Ingot joined Blazette, Skelly, and Skelly. Terra threw carrots and potatoes while Ingot continually spawned golems. Blazette shot fireballs and Skelly used arrows while Skelli ran up and slashed the mutant with her sword along with Saber and Claret.

Lattice and Lacy kept placing webbing around the beast from their fingertips. Misery shot fireballs from her mouth, dealing serious damage to the beast. Andr teleported Cupa around the area, the latter setting off a chain of explosions in rapid succession. Slag, Mire, Ashley, and Haze kept their grip on the skeleton.

Tony stood on the sidelines with Atlas, H, and a scared Hamilton. Tony could only watch in awe as the rulers showcased their abilities against a common enemy. He looked at H. "Why aren't you helping?" He asked. The girl remained motionless. She replied, "It is not my place."

"What?"

"I don't care for these petty quarrels."

"Petty qua- those are your friends!"

"I don't have friends. My power shouldn't be abused in a quarrel like this."

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. This girl, H, had little to no care for her fellow rulers, as if she was above them. _'What does she even rule?' _He thought. He looked at the scared Hamilton cowering behind H.

The mutant was becoming enraged. It was getting weak from the barrage of attacks, so it went to its last resort. It jumped up into the air, successfully detaching the slime girls. The creature aimed down and shot several arrows in random directions. The first few went towards the rulers, but were easily dodged. The other few, however, went towards the sidelines. Tony pushed Atlas out of the way as and arrow grazed his shoulder, creating a small gash. Right as the arrow touched him, his body suddenly felt strange, but he ignored it at the moment.

The skeleton was about to land on the ground when Andr teleported Cupa right in the landing zone. Her body began flickering as she began preparing a large explosion. Andr teleported away and the skeleton landed just as Cupa released the energy, letting loose a large blast. The skeleton roared as its bones burst around the area. They were all that was left behind along with a completely decimated landscape. Cupa smiled at her handiwork.

"Yes! We did it!" Mire said, high-fiving Slag. Skelly nodded. "Yes. I suppose we did." Her voice didn't show much joy.

Saber picked up her sword, keeping it at the ready. When she did, the entire group got a reality check. The village rulers stood in a line on one side while the mob rulers regrouped on the other side. They stared at eachother, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Tony didn't like where this was heading. He quickly stepped forward, but stopped as pain suddenly enveloped his body. His eyes glazed over as he fell to his knees with his face following. Atlas ran to him. "Tony!" She cried. Slag and Mire soon joined, trying to help.

Atlas looked at the wound. "He was hit by an arrow. It's having a poison effect on him! He needs a healing potion!"

The village rulers quickly ran to his aid while the mob rulers remained. Skelly looked at the village group and at Tony's unconscious form. She hesitantly went to him, much to the surprise of the other mob rulers. It wasn't long before they all followed her... except Yaebi, of course. The rulers carried Tony into the witch's hut.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of purple eyes watched them, angrily and despairingly. "I'm sorry, my love..."


	13. Obsession & Negotiation

Tony woke up slowly. He could feel he was bedridden... again. _'Why do I keep getting knocked out in this world? This was never a problem back home! Then again, these circumstances are... unique...' _

Tony sat up, feeling dizzy, but not pained. Suddenly, a voice spoke. "You're awake, I see." Tony looked over, expecting to see Atlas, but was shocked to see, "Skelly? What are you- wait... the last thing I remember is the mob rulers and the village rulers-"

Skelly held up a hand. "Let me answer some of your questions. Us rulers were going to fight, but then you collapsed from a poisoned arrow. Since you helped during the conflict, we all decided to return the favor. Atlas made a healing potion in the witch's hut, and judging by your look, it seems to have worked. We regrouped at the Village Castle and as we speak, the other rulers are working on a treaty agreement."

"A... treaty? To fight Hex?"

"We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Tony thought for a moment. He couldn't help but feel a bit giddy that the two factions were joining forces to accomplish a common goal. Skelly shuffled in her seat. "Tony... can you answer a question for me?" The human raised an eyebrow. Skelly looked straight at him. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you save me? It was foolish and you had no right to intervene. I can respawn, you can't. Most of us still So why did you save me?"

"Well... do I need a reason to help someone who needs? I didn't forget what happened at Shade Village, but how would not helping you make anything better?"

Skelly was shocked by his answer. She clearly remembered how Tony looked at Shade Village. He was drenched in humility and pain. He laid on the ground, looking up at her to find an evil grin. Skelly remembered it all too well, she even labeled that moment as her most favorite memory. This human had thrown away all of his animosity in that one act of aid. Now she felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Well, it was partially guilt. There was another feeling as well that she couldn't identify. Skelly sighed before brushing it off.

Skelly stood and was about to exit. She stood in the doorway for a moment before saying, "I wouldn't fall asleep if I were you. Slag and Mire kept trying to sneak in here. Watch yourself." She left with a grin on her face and a scared Tony in her wake.

Tony fell back on the bed and sighed. He tried to keep himself from dozing off, but felt sleep take hold... that is, until he felt a strange pressure on his side. He was going to brush it off, but became a bit scared as the pressure draped across his chest. Then a voice. "I'm here, my love."

Tony yelped and backed against the wall. The voice spoke again. "What's wrong, dear? Oh! Right. Just a sec!" There was the sound of shuffling and then drinking before a familiar ruler appeared. "H-Hex! What are you doing here-" The witch pounced on him and covered his mouth.

"You must be quiet, my dear! We wouldn't want the others to barge in on our private time! I came to see if you were alright after that skeleton struck you."

"Why would I care if the others hear- wait, you came to... _check _on me? Not kill me?" Tony looked around for his sword until his eyes landed on it... leaning against the wall opposite him. _'Too far to jump for...' _

Hex leaned closer to Tony, causing him to blush. "Why would I kill you?"

"Well, I _did _kind of kill several of your mutants."

"While I must admit the defeat of my skeleton was a setback, the others were just tests!"

"Tests?"

"Yes. I wanted to find the reason for my obsession with you. I watched you. I followed you. I layed with you. I came to realize that you landing so near to my house was no coincidence. It was fate."

Tony was beginning to feel a strange assortment of feelings at Hex's confession. Anger, fear, confusion and everything in between. How else would one react to their enemy openly admitting to stalking them? Hex wrapped her arms around Tony. "Yes, it all became so clear. Tony... you are my true love!"

The color literally left Tony's body with the exception of the redness of his cheeks. His brain tried to wrap around what Hex just told him.

She loved him.

_She loved him!_

The witch didn't notice Tony's expression as she cuddled up close to him. The boy began piecing everything together. How Hex knew his name, why she attacked the mob rulers back at the forest, the paranoid feeling he has when he travelled. The whole puzzle was beginning to come together, but there was still one missing piece. "Why did you create the mutants?"Tony asked, shakily. Hex smiled, ready to answer, but her body suddenly tensed up. Quickly, she jumped toward the window and broke a glass. She looked at Tony. "I'm sorry, my love. I sense them coming. Don't worry, I will be back." Hex winked and jumped out just as the door cracked open.

"Tony? You awake?" It was Mire. With everything that had just happened, Tony forgot Skelly's warning. Without thinking, he replied, "Yes."

He then yelped as Slag and Mire burst into the room.

"This is our final offer. Take it or leave it." Saber said, slamming her fist on the table. The village rulers all stood behind her. Yaebi glared at Saber. "No deal! We cannot agree to that! It would distort the natural order!"

"Hex is already doing that! If we don't rally all the troops we have, she'll do more damage than we could possibly imagine!"

"No. You cannot make us give in to these demands!"

Saber was getting annoyed. "That's it. Listen here you little piece of dead meat I'll-" Rube put a hand on her shoulder. "Saber, calm down. This is a treaty negotiation, not a war declaration." Yaebi grinned. "It would be wise to listen to your sister."

The mob rulers facepalmed and did not help when Saber jumped over the table, beating the crying Yaebi. Suddenly, the doors burst open.

The rulers looked in shock as Tony ran in with Slag and Mire chasing him. The girls looked ravenous. "Come on! We just want to ask you a few questions!"

"You don't ask questions with your hands!"

"It's a hands-on approach!"

Tony ran and hid behind the village rulers. Slag and Mire ran at full speed until Ashley and Haze caught hold of them. "What do you think you're doing!?" Ashley barked. Slag crossed her arms. "We were just going to _examine _him!" Tony shuddered at her wording. Saber scowled. "Tony, please take your harem somewhere else! This is kind of important!" The boy's face glowed red. He didn't know what was worse: Saber accusing him of polygamy or the mischievous look Slag and Mire shot at him, both sporting their own blushes.

Tony coughed before coming out of hiding. "Sorry, everyone. How is- What the heck happened to him!?" He pointed to the bruised and battered Yaebi on the ground. Blazette floated over the zombie ruler. "Never mind him. We need to settle this _now_. These villagers want us to despawn our subjects! Hex is getting more power by the minute!"

Tony looked down in thought. _'Hex is in love with me... and in charge of the mutants. Perhaps I could- NO! That would be wrong! Would it?' _Tony knew abusing the feelings of any girl would be bad, especially a unique situation like Hex.

However, he also knew what was at stake.

He decided to withhold the little meeting he had with the witch until things calmed down a bit.

His thoughts were interrupted by the negotiation's conclusion. Blazette slammed her fist on the table. "That is our final deal. We will only despawn our subjects if He is an ally." Tony noticed the sudden fear in the village rulers' eyes. Saber swallowed before speaking. "You can't be serious. Recruiting Him can't even be possible. It's a suicide attempt."

"He is the only one capable of altering the world seed with minimum damage! Surely he could sustain it as well!"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "World seed? He?" Atlas looked at him, fearful. "The world seed is what holds everything in our world together, both living and nonliving. If the world seed is destroyed from too much alteration, like Hex's meddling with the mobs, everything will cease to exist... as for who _He_ is..." Atlas trailed off, scared.

H suddenly teleported in front of Tony. "He is the one who created me. He is the true terror in the hearts of all warriors." Her white eyes seemed to bore into Tony's soul as he backed away. The girl's voice lacked any emotion, and that may have been the scariest part. Her eyes glowed brighter.

"He is Herobrine."


	14. H

Tony gulped. "This... H-Herobrine... _he _created you?" H's eyes glowed. "Yes. He made me in his own image for reasons I dare not say."

"If that's true, he must be, like, a God!"

Saber scoffed. "Yeah, right! At least Gods show mercy! Herobrine is the cruelest creature in the universe. He has limitless power." Tony thought on this. "I get it now. You want to persuade Herobrine to keep the world seed in one piece until Hex is taken care of." He deduced. Skelly smiled and nodded. "Precisely. Although, not just any of us can go. It would need to be our strongest, most valuable fighters to go!" Everyone looked to the ground in thought until an idea came to their heads.

Tony felt himself sweat at the thought of what was about to happen. Everyone was outside now. The rulers stood in front of him, the mobs smiling while the villagers looked worried. Tony took a deep breath. "Why do I have to be the one to talk to the merciless God? I'm certainly not the strongest fighter here!"

Blazette floated forward. "That is true, but you _are _the most expendable. We have kingdoms to rule. If Herobrine slays us, we may not respawn." Tony looked down. He understood too well. These beings were rulers who had unimaginable power.

He was just a human.

Tony's depression was cut short by a sudden, desperate cry. "I volunteer to join him!" Tony looked up in shock to find Atlas raising her hand, her face bright red. Saber smacked her in the head. "Hey, Bookworm! He's visiting Herobrine! You know, destroyer of heroes, ruler of night? That guy. Do you really want to go with Tony?" She said. Atlas looked at the human and smiled with a blush. "I do."

She ran up next to Tony. He felt extremely grateful, but also a bit worried. "Atlas, if what they say is true, this is going to be dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you." He said. The librarian girl smiled. "I refuse to change my mind."

Suddenly, another voice spoke up. "I'm going, too!" Skelly stepped out of the crowd. Skelli raised her voice. "Are you insane? Why do you want to aid this human?" She said. Skelly smirked back at her dear sister. "I'm not aiding him. I just want to be there if he gets destroyed." The skeleton girl smirked at Tony. He smiled in understanding.

The trio, led by H, walked a bit away from the rulers before H grabbed them and teleported away.

The group reappeared in a dark place. It appeared to be a cave made of obsidian! "Is... is this..." Skelly stammered, holding her bow. Tony raised an eyebrow at her. She was uncharacteristically scared right now. A strange contrast from her usual attitude. H looked around. "This way." She said. It was scary how nonchalant she was.

H led the trio down a long hall lined with torches Tony had never seen before. They dimly glowed, creating a creepy atmosphere. Atlas stayed behind Tony, clutching his hand. Skelly kept her bow drawn. Tony sweat a bit.

It wasn't long until the group reached a large room. It appeared to be empty. H signaled everyone to stay behind as she walked to the center of the room. Silence followed as everyone waited.

Silence...

Silence...

Silence...

SCREEEE!

The sudden noise shook everyone to their core, except H. In the blink of an eye, a figured appeared before her. It was a male cube human, alright, but something was... off. It floated above the ground and its clothes were identical to H's. The most unnerving trait about this specimen was its eyes. They glowed white, almost as bright as torches!

As H and Herobrine stood face to face, her eyes glowed. This only took place for a moment as her eyes suddenly reverted back to normal. Immediately after this, Herobrine suddenly appeared in front of Tony.

The boy jumped and reached for his sword, but was stopped. He couldn't move as his body was suddenly covered in an eery, white aura. Herobrine lifted Tony toward his face. He examined the boy, tilting his head. As Tony looked into this creature's eyes, he saw fear incarnate.

Hopelessness.

Desolation.

Darkness in the Light.

Herobrine's eyes suddenly glowed. Tony was scared until his eyes glowed bright white as well.

Then darkness.

Skelly could only watch in horror as Tony's eyes began to glow. Atlas screamed. "What's going on? What's he doing!?" H held up a hand. "Calm down. He's just communicating." Atlas and Skelly looked at each other, worried.

Tony looked at his new sudden surroundings. The area was pitch black, like the cave, but there was no shine of obsidian.

It was just darkness.

Tony reached for his sword, but found it, along with his backpack, gone. Then the voice spoke. "You certainly are an interesting one." The voice sounded layered, as if several voices spoke at once. It was disembodied, coming from all directions. Tony gulped. "Are... are you-"

"Herobrine? Yes. And you, dear Tony, are a magnificent specimen."

"Specimen?"

"Yes. My Heroinebrine has told me so much about you."

"Heroinebrine... you mean H?"

"Call her what you wish, she is merely a scout. She told me your story. A human from another world. Looking at you now, I can see that Heroinebrine was not lying. But idle admiration can wait. You have come for my aid on behalf of the rulers?"

"Uh... well, no. I come on behalf of the entire world."

Tony began telling Herobrine the plan. The creature chuckled at some points, but remained silent for the most part. When Tony finished, the voice spoke again. "Why should I agree to do this? I could just as easily destroy this witch ruler infinity times over!" It said. Tony gulped, looking down. "Well... uh..."

"You've spoken to her, haven't you?"

Tony was shocked. "How did you... I-"

"I have my ways."

Tony sighed. "What should I do?"

"Emotions. Such hard things to understand. If I had a heart, it'd feel sympathy. But I don't. If you want to save this pathetic world, play her heartstrings to your liking."

Tony felt a pang of something in his chest. He brushed it off, not knowing what the feeling was. He raised an eyebrow. "So... you'll help?"

"... yes. But don't be fooled. I would love to see every cube of this world destroyed, but I'm feeling rather bored lately. So, rather than helping you, think of it like... helping myself."

"Th-thank you..." Tony said, nodding. Herobrine's eyes glowed brighter until white light lit up the area...

Skelly, Atlas, and H watched the light leave Tony's eyes and the aura dissipate. He fell to the ground, taking deep breaths. Herobrine looked down at him and teleported away, but not before delivering a sharp screech.

Atlas helped Tony up. "W-what happened?" He was still regaining his breath and sweating. H stepped forward. "That was impressive. I figured he'd destroy you immediately." Skelly looked around the cave, bow still ready, but Herobrine was gone. "We should go." The skeleton girl said. Atlas supported the human while H followed them. Meanwhile, her master's voice rang in her head.

_"My Heroinebrine, I have a _special _mission for you..." _

H's eyes filled with determination as she walked and listened.


	15. Hexed

H teleported the group back to the Village Castle, where everyone was waiting. Everyone immediately barraged the returning party with questions.

"What happened!?"

"How are you not dead?"

"Is Tony okay?"

That last one came from Slag and Mire, both of whom had taken the weakened Tony from Atlas, who was fuming. Tony quickly regained his composure and stepped back. "E-everyone! Chill out! I'll explain everything."

Tony began telling everyone his ordeal with Herobrine. Atlas and Skelly added commentary alongside it. By the end, everyone was feeling either awestruck or disbelieving.

Yaebi happened to fit in the latter.

"You expect us to believe a mere human convinced Herobrine to help save the world? Malarkey!" He spat. Atlas jumped forward. "He did! I saw him!"

"So what, Bookworm?"

Skelly suddenly slapped Yaebi in the back of the head. "Foolish boy. Don't forget that I was there as well." She leaned close. "...and you do not want to question me if you hope to survive." Yaebi muttered something inaudible, but backed down. Atlas smiled at Skelly, grateful.

Tony felt a hand on his shoulder and found H staring at him. He looked away immediately. After seeing the endlessness of Herobrine's eyes, he didn't want to look at H's either.

Too terrifying.

The girl tilted her head. "Come with me for a moment."

H led Tony away from the group and out of earshot. He raised an eyebrow. "So... what is this about?" He asked. H's features remained neutral, as always. "My master told me about you and Hex."

Tony felt his heart begin pounding.

H held a hand up. "Do not fret. I won't tell anyone... that is, unless you prove to be a threat to this world."

"I-I'm not! I want to help!"

"That's good. There is another way you can help. My master seeks the formula that Hex is using to alter this world. Bring it to him."

"Chemical X? Wh-why?"

"Because we will destroy you if you don't. And don't tell the others. He won't take kindly to interference."

H teleported away, her threat still hanging around Tony. _'The most powerful creature in the world wants to get his hands on a potion that will make him even stronger? Oh, great...' _Tony thought, morbidly.

It was only a little later when Tony was laying in his room. It was nighttime and he was exhausted. Before laying down, he begged Slag and Mire to not break into his room, which they hesitantly agreed.

As he layed there, he couldn't help but think of Herobrine's words and his talk with H.

Why would Herobrine want Chemical X?

Was it right to use Hex?

Tony mentally slapped himself. Of course it wasn't right! But it _was _necessary. He didn't even know why he was so conflicted. It was obvious that Hex was the bad guy in this conflict... but why did she seem so... _not _evil?

Suddenly, Tony felt the familiar pressure again. _'Well, speak of the devil...' _He thought as Hex revealed herself. "Hi, honey." She cuddled close to Tony. The boy blushed and gulped. "H-hello, Hex... I still don't understand how you keep sneaking in here."

"That's _my _secret!" She said, sticking her tongue out.

They stayed silent for a few moments. Hex was blushing deeply and Tony was blushing uncomfortably. He took a deep breath before asking, "Why are you making mutants?" Hex traced her finger across his torso. "Oh, sweety. Can't we just relax together? We may not get many nights like this."

"R-right, but I... I need to know."

Hex stopped tracing her finger and just laid her hand on his chest. She sighed. "I... I was hoping to wait on this subject... but if it's what you wish..." She sat on the opposite end of the bed and began her tale...

"I was raised away from the other rulers. My parents kept me away from my sisters and they still deeply hated the mobs. Unfortunately, I was destined to rule our witches, causing my parents to... stop. They spoke to me very little and pretended I was nonexistent. I was usually made to stay in my room."

Tony noticed her sudden depression. "That sounds... lonely."

"It was. Anyways, as the years went on, I grew older and my powers and potion skills skyrocketed. Maybe it's because of my nature, but I began to despise humans. They killed my witches and looted their homes. My family couldn't care less, though, so I ran away... to find the mob rulers. I figured they would accept me as an abomination."

"What happened?"

"... they attacked me. They kept calling me a stupid villager and a foolish girl and a bunch of other mean things. I almost died."

Tony's mind flashed to the mob rulers looking down at his beaten body. He gulped, but remained silent. Hex continued.

"So, I did the only thing I could do: I ran. I ran even after those mobs stopped chasing me. I ended up running into a swamp. I was soaked in rain and I cried my eyes out, repeatedly asking myself what was wrong with me. What did I ever do wrong?"

Hex's voice cracked a bit.

"That was when I realized it: I never did _anything _wrong! I was repeatedly persecuted and scorned for no reason! All of that sadness turned into rage and you know what? It felt good. It felt natural. I liked rage. I used rage. It fueled my next move: revenge. I used every ounce of my power to create a formula to help me. I wanted to make something that would make them all pay... then it happened. All it took was some obsidian and water and I made the most deadly potion in the world. I used it over and over and over... but..."

Hex's arms fell to her sides as her tone saddened.

"...eventually, I began to feel tired. I was tired of rage. It wasn't doing me much good anymore. That's when..."

Hex looked at Tony, smiling.

"... that's when you showed up! You were my angel sent from the Aether itself. Thanks to you, I found a new emotion to hold onto..."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"... love..."

Tony blushed as he felt guilt for what he just did. Hex just told him her innermost pain because of how she felt about him. This proved his theory: she was not evil. Just... alone.

Well... not alone anymore. She found company in Tony. She found a partner in Tony. _'But... I don't feel the same... do I?' _Tony looked down in thought. Hex smiled and went to him. "Hey, no need to feel sad. It's all going to be better soon. Once my revenge is complete..."

Tony suddenly looked at her. "Hex... you can't..."

"But I must! Once all of those monsters are gone I will be at peace... and we can be together..."

"But, the world seed! If you keep altering the world-"

"I know the risk! I will kill them all even if this world is killed!"

"What about... us..." Tony bit his tongue. He could not believe he just said that.

Hex's eyes were full of insanity. She kneeled and looked into his eyes. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. We'll find a way." She laid Tony back and laid next to him once again. Tony knew Hex's mindset was extremely unstable, but he needed to find a way to make her see what she was doing was wrong.

For now, however, he would leave her alone. She won't listen to reason in this state. They laid down for the rest of the night...


	16. Atlas

"Tony! Look at these!" Atlas exclaimed, kneeling next to some red flowers and smelling them. She smiled at Tony, who approached her. He had a grin on his face. "They sure are beautiful, but not as beautiful as you, milady." He said. Atlas giggled and blushed. "Oh, you! Since when did you become such the sweet talker?"

"Ever since I laid my eyes on yours, my love." Tony grasped Atlas' shoulders and kissed her. The village ruler was surprised at first, but then kissed back.

Tony pulled away, pushing Atlas onto a bed. The ruler was a bit surprised. _'Why is there a bed in the middle of a garden?' _She thought, but immediately forgot as Tony was suddenly above her and kissing her neck. "My love, I have waited for this moment since I first laid my eyes on you! I want you to be my wife!"

"Oh yes! Yes! I will be your wife!" Atlas giggled as Tony began to lift her dress...

Atlas suddenly woke in her bed to find Grace shaking her. "Atlas! Wake up!" She said. The librarian sleepily rubbed her eyes. "Huh? Where am I?"

"You're in your room." Grace replied, blushing. Atlas suddenly remembered her dream and felt annoyed. "Why did you wake me up? I was having the best dream."

"I am aware. You kept saying Tony's name and giggling. Just like last time." Grace walked over to her chest and opened it, causing a hologram of the chest's contents to appear.

Atlas blushed. "Sorry, Sister. I know I shouldn't think like that, but I just can't stop thinking about him! He's the only other person I can talk to intellectually and he's nice and-"

"I understand, but such sinful thoughts only distract you from responsibility."

"I know."

"Good. I'm going now. I need to check up on the church. I'll see you later." Grace said, walking out of the room.

Atlas sat in bed, still thinking of her dream. Then she had an idea.

Tony sat in his room, checking his backpack inventory. _'I haven't done much in the way of... well, anything. I should probably try to build a house and hunt my own food. I can't live here forever.'_

Before he could ponder anymore, Atlas poked her head in the room. "Hi, Tony!" She beamed. Tony smiled. "Oh, hey, Atlas! Good morning! How are you?"

"I'm fine, but I was wondering if you could help me in the garden today? I want to categorize some flowers." Atlas mentally slapped herself. Who on this entire world would want to do something as boring-

"Sure, I'll go."

Atlas looked slightly surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, I don't really have much to do today, so I could use a good activity."

"Awesome! Er- ahem... I will meet you outside!"

Tony and Atlas walked along a pathway. The librarian thanked Notch the garden was a little ways off from the Village Castle. Any closer and her plan might be a bit more embarrassing. Tony didn't suspect a thing as he picked up flowers along the way, testing his abilities in using his inventory.

It wasn't long before the duo reached the garden. Tony gasped at the sight of it. A stone brick path wound around the entire vicinity. Layers upon layers of crops and flowers of all kinds filled the area. "This is incredible!" The boy asked. Atlas smiled. "Well, it _is _Terra's garden, after all! She is a farmer."

The two began walking down the path, Tony writing notes about the flowers in his notebook. As he turned away, Atlas quickly pulled a bed from her inventory and threw it down in a random spot in the garden. She returned to Tony's side, holding a flower for him to examine. The boy kept writing notes as Atlas gave him details, but his attention suddenly landed on the bed.

"Hm? Atlas? Why is there a bed here?"

"Hm? Oh! _That_! Well, sometimes Terra likes to sleep out here, but as long as it's here..." Atlas led Tony to the bed. They both sat down next to eachother. Tony sighed as he smiled at the garden.

"This place is wonderful. I could probably take a nap here."

"Or, you know, other things..." Atlas mumbled with a blush.

"Hm? What's that?"

"Nothing!"

Tony shrugged and continued looking around. Atlas took a deep breath. She faced Tony and puckered her lips.

Then a hissing noise was heard.

Tony stood, causing Atlas to fall forward on the bed. A green creature was approaching them. Tony raised his sword and grinned. "Is that a creeper? I haven't seen one of these guys without all the mutation stuff until now-"

Atlas snatched Tony's sword and began stabbing the creature repeatedly. Tony watched in both horror and odd fascination as she destroyed the mob. Quietly, Atlas returned to the bed and sighed before returning Tony's sword. Tony blinked and coughed. "You seem... tense."

"Sorry about that. I, uh, really like this garden."

"Ah..." Tony opened up his inventory to put his sword away. Atlas took this opportunity and puckered her lips.

Then a drop of water landed on her nose.

Rain began pouring down from the sky in buckets. The duo ran into the forest for cover. Tony looked into his inventory and quickly pulled out a few blocks of dirt and built a makeshift shelter.

The shelter was extremely small, so he and Atlas had to sit facing eachother, their knees practically touching. They stayed silent, the only noise being the rain barreling down on the shelter. Tony chuckled. "Well, this is awkward. The rain should stop soon, though- Atlas? Are you... okay?" He asked. The librarian was looking at the ground in sadness. She sighed. "I was just hoping we could walk through the garden and get to know eachother a bit more. Oh well..." She returned to her depression. _'In hindsight, this plan was pretty impossible to begin with. And pervy. Oh, Notch! Why did I do this again? Now Tony probably thinks I'm desperate!' _Atlas thought.

Tony looked at her, sadly. He thought for a moment before opening up his backpack inventory. Atlas paid him no attention... until a red flower was in front of her. She was surprised to see Tony holding it out to her, smiling. "Atlas, don't be sad. You are probably the greatest friend I could ever have! You were one of the first real friends I've made in this world! So what if it's rainy now? There will be other days."

Atlas blushed and took the flower. She smiled. Then she crawled toward Tony and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Tony."

"D-don't mention it." The boy said, blushing.

They stayed in the mini-shelter until the rain stopped, spending that time talking and laughing. They didn't even notice when the rain stopped.

AN: Yo guys! Just thought I should give you a headsup! This chapter is one of a series of random chapters that give updates on Tony's current relationship with different people. No, they aren't going to all be in succession and no they aren't going to be put in places that don't make sense to the story. I don't want to call it filler, but... that's up to you to decide.


	17. Mortal Reminder

Tony sat in a small clearing, sword out, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from his brow as he looked at his attackers. His glasses were on the ground, smashed,so this was no easy task. His body was in pain, but he forced himself to stand. Currently circling him were all of the mutants he'd faced since he arrived in Minecraftia. They had been throwing hin around, playing with him. He was outclassed. Outmatched.

Outnumbered.

The beasts closed in on him. Tony tried to keep his eyes on them all, but this just gave them time to attack. The skeleton reared back his bow and shot, the arrows going through Tony.

The human woke with a start. He was sweaty and gasping for air as he felt his body. Tony let out a sigh of relief as he realized what had happened. 'Just a dream... just a dream...'

He quickly stood and did his daily routine, but the dream was still fresh in his mind. The disturbing nature shook him to his core. 'Well, maybe training will take my mind off it. It is about that time.' Tony thought as he ran toward the castle courtyard.

Saber threw everything she had at Tony. She swung her sword with enough strength the break bricks. Tony had to dodge that one and follow up with a vertical slice. Saber stepped back and jabbed Tony's hand, causing him to drop his sword. She threw a solid kick at his chest, making him fall.

Saber sighed as she leaned on her wooden sword. "You're being clumsy! Get a hold of yourself and try again!"

The slime sisters, H, and Skelli sat a little ways away, watching the spar. Slag and Mire looked a bit worried.

"He's not doing as well as he usually does." Mire said. Slag nodded. "I agree. He seems distracted."

The two kept talking about Tony while their older sisters looked at them in confusion. Ashley spoke first. "I just don't understand their infatuation with that human."

"Me neither, but we can't stop them. He'll eventually show his true colors. All humans do." Haze said.

"I don't know about this one. Look at what he's done already. We are working with our sworn enemies to fight a common threat!"

The eldest sisters thought that over as they continued watching the spar.

Tony kept his stance clumsily and held his sword just the same. Saber easily beat him during the spar. Tony was once again on his back. He looked up as Saber grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away from the arena and spectators.

"What in the Nether is wrong with you!?" Saber spat. Tony winced and sighed.

"I'm just a... a bit distracted."

"A bit? A zombie could have walked circles around you with how slow your strikes were! What is so distracting!?"

Tony began telling her about his disturbing dream. Saber listened until Tony was finished before sighing. "So you had a nightmare and your suddenly afraid to fight?"

"No! I'm not afraid! It's just that... this world is my reality now. In my world, we didn't face monsters like these. What's more, we don't respawn! Death is death. I guess that dream made me a bit more aware of what could happen to me."

"Hm... so you want to give up on this little adventure? Maybe leave the castle and go settle down in a village with your little slime harem? Hey! While your at it, have a family! Live life to the fullest!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Tony was not sure what scared him more: Saber herself or the fact that her plan sounded incredibly appealing, but he knew what he had to do. "I... I don't want to leave..."

"Good! Now, I have an idea and if you even have a pair of cubes, you'll follow me."

The blacksmith began marching off toward the forests with Tony following. Unbeknownst to either of them, a face peeked out of the corner. Skelli eyed the duo, narrowing her eyes.

Tony followed Saber as she walked through the forest. They both held their swords at the ready, in case they were blindsided by something. Tony looked around until he decided to ask, "Saber? Where are we going?"

The blacksmith grinned. "To find a mutant, of course!" Tony felt his heart sink, but he pushed back his fear and nodded. "Okay. How are we going to find one? There can't be that many."

"You kidding? Hex has made countless minions from the mobs, especially around this area. Her numbers are going to overwhelm us soon."

"What are you going to do?"

"Rube and Skelly are already coming up with a plan. Although, from what I've heard, it's going to be extremely risky."

"What is it?"

"Well, it- look!" Saber held up her sword and pointed at a mutant creeper stalking by. Tony felt frozen as the monster slowly turned its head to see him and Saber.

Tony was shaken from his paralysis by the creature's sudden roar. It whipped its neck at the duo, causing them to jump out of the way. Saber grabbed her sword and charged at the mutant. Tony watched as she moved in different directions, slashing as she did. Even with her rough exterior, Tony had to admit she looked pretty elegant.

His admiration was short-lived as he heard a sudden hiss behind him. Tony completely forgot about the mutant's ability to spawn creepers. The green menace flashed white until... a sword suddenly webt through its head. Tony looked in shock as Skelli removed her sword from the creeper. She glared at Tony. "Idiot human! Pay more attention to your surroundings!" She snapped. The wither skeleton girl then ran toward the mutant.

Tony was once again in admiration of the two girls as they danced around the creature, arguing all the while.

"You idiot! Why would you bring him here if he's needed for the plan?" Skelli barked.

"I'm trying to help him!" Saber snapped.

"By killing him?"

"We can handle this! Why don't you just go back to the Nether you bone head!"

As they fought, Tony couldn't help but feel that they were taking out a lot of anger on the mutant. He also noticed that they stopped paying attention.

The monster suddenly jumped in the air, landing on the ground with a large explosion. Tony and the girls were all thrown back.

The creature suddenly began flashing white. "Is... is it going to explode?" Tony asked. Skelli shook her head. "It's charging. Quick! We have to break its focus!" Skelli and Saber charged, but Tony stayed behind. He looked at the creeper mutant as it stood, motionless. It seemed to stare at him. Tony noted how its eyes looked like the ones in his nightmare. Just the thought made him shudder... but that led to another thought. '... the... the head! It's weakness! The first time I fought one of these things, I beat it with strategy, not suicide tactics. I don't have a reason to be afraid because I know their weaknesses. I can do this... but how?' Tony looked around until his eyes landed on the prize: a lone tree leftover from the explosion. Tony ran to the tree and began climbing.

Saber and Skelli slashed with all of their might, but the creature just kept flashing. Soon, it was done and its wounds suddenly healed. The creature let loose a hefty roar... before being interrupted by a sword being embedded in its skull. The monster slowly fell forward. Tony kneeled over his sword, smiling. Although, he couldn't help but feel he was forgetting something.

That something suddenly showed itself as the dead mutant began flashing. Saber and Skelli tackled Tony. "Look out!"

The mutant corpse exploded, creating a larger crater in its place. Saber and Skelli looked back and sighed. The former suddenly looked around. "Where's Tony?"

She didn't have to look far as she looked down and found the human... underneath Skelli. His eyes were closed and his face was bright red because Skelli had landed on him chest first. The wither girl turned equally red and jumped off of the boy. Saber laughed out loud as Skelli held her hands to her chest. The wither skeleton girl stood with a blush. "Well then... we should go. No doubt that creeper attracted more mutants."

"Right."

As the trio walked back to the Village Castle, Saber kept scolding Tony. "What was that? You ran and waited for an opening?"

"Well... yeah?" Tony said, scratching his head.

"Idiot!" Saber smacked the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You're not always going to have time for an opening! Sometimes, you have to make an opening!"

Skelli snickered. "I'm going to have to disagree, Saber."

"Excuse me?"

"I admit that making an opening is smart, but patience is key to being victorious."

"As if! A strong offense can defeat any defense!"

"You want to bet on that?"

"What?"

"How about both of us train Tony. Whichever style he chooses is the winner."

"Fine! The winner gets a cake from the loser!"

"Deal!"

The girls kept walking, leaving a dumbfounded Tony behind. "W-what just happened?"

Rube walked through the castle, passing the time, when H suddenly appeared. The villager jumped a bit. "H. What do you need?"

"I came to discuss the plan."

"... right. I'm still unsure, but is it trul what He wants?"

"He commanded it."

Rube gulped. "Alright, let's go."


	18. The Definition of Hex

"Erm... H, I don't know about this. Tony isn't ready for something like this." Rube said, looking over the plan in her notebook. "Most of our world's greatest heroes aren't ready for this!" H remained emotionless as she answered. "This isn't a search and destroy mission. This is a recruitment mission. You are severely outnumbered by Hex's mutants. You know you need Tony to do this."

"I know, I know. When should we start?"

"The sooner the better."

Hex and Rube exited the room to fetch the human boy. Unbeknownst to either of them, a certain someone was in the room with them. Hex made herself visible again and walked to the table where Rube's notebook was laying.

"What do we have here? What are they going to do to my Sweetums!" Hex picked up the notes and read them before her eyes widened.

"Those... wenches! How dare they! Do they truly think this will turn the tide of this war!? My poor Tony... don't you worry, Love! I will win... for you!"

Hex left the castle to enact her plan. She knew it would take work, but it was worth it. She had the perfect counter to those cretins' plan...

17 Years Ago

A man in a long brown robe stood next to his wife as she screamed and clutched his hand.

The wife was in labor.

Her face was red as she felt her body stretch to accomodate the new being she and her husband created. Hours and hours of pain had led to this moment...

The nurse held the baby, examining it. The room was suddenly quiet, except for the heavy breathing of the wife. The man narrowed his eyes as the baby was turned around and every which way. After a moment or two, the nurse looked at the man, shaking her head. The man nodded before leaving the room and checking on his other daughters.

Present

Hex snuck through her ender portal. She wanted to be wary of the mobs there. If they saw her, there was a good chance the mob rulers would be notified. Hex used her invisibility potion and snuck around the pigmen and netherrack hills until she spotted her target.

12 Years Ago

The man stood next to his wife as they looked at their children, who were all currently playing together in a field.

Well... almost all of them.

Hex was in her room in the castle, reading. She didn't care much for the outside world or the games her sisters played. Although, she couldn't help but go to her window and look. They seemed to be having fun. She may have felt a bit envious if it weren't for her sudden notice of her father's absence.

He knocked on her door and opened it a little. "Hex? Are you in here?" His voice boomed. The little girl quickly sat down on her giant book just as he entered.

"Hex, you aren't causing trouble are you?"

"Hi, father. No, I was just..."

The man eyed her before nudging her to the side and finding her book. He lifted it up and eyed the cover. It was a book of spells and potions.

"... I thought I told you never to read this..."

"Oh! Don't be mad, father. I found some interesting potions! I think-"

"I told you to stop with this infatuation of yours. You have no business learning potions and spells."

"But father-"

"Enough! I'm taking this book and keeping it! If I find you with it again, there will be swift punishment!"

The toddler had tears in her eyes as he left the room with the book.

Present

Hex snuck through the Nether Fortress, swiftly dodging blazes and spawners. She made sure to keep her invisibility potions potent enough to last a long time, but she was pushing it. Hex was close to running at this point, but she kept herself steady. It would do no good to get herself caught, not when she had come so far.

Fortunately, the witch had only a bit more running to do before she found her prize. A small stack of soul sand stood before her with several bits of nether wart growing from it. Hex sighed in relief before digging it up.

Once every block of the sand was taken, she looked for the deadlier potions in her inventory. 'Now comes the hard part...'

7 Years Ago

Hex walked past her sisters, who all had tears in their eyes. Their father dismissed them all except the young Hex. The man was laid down on his bed, breathing heavily. He looked to the side to see Hex approaching.

"Hello... Hex. My daughter..."

"... father..." She spoke quietly and looked to the ground.

"Hex... look... at me..." He said between breaths.

She complied.

"It... it is... my time. It's time for... me to... join your mother... in the Aether..."

"I... I know, father..." The man noticed a tear in his daughter's eyes.

"Hex... do you know... why I... wanted to speak with you? I... think it's time... you knew the truth..."

The witch girl looked at her father in confusion and sadness, but remained quiet as he continued.

"When you were born... I... I was afraid. Your mother and I both knew... what you'd become..."

"What do you mean?"

"You... are the sole heir to... the witch throne... it is your destiny..."

"Really?"

"Yes... could you truly not see it? You've excelled in... potionmaking and enchanting at a rate... none could have forseen."

"Wow..."

The young Hex looked at her hands, suddenly aware of the power they held. She was amazed that she hadn't noticed it before. Her amazement changed into horror at ger father's next words.

"You are evil..."

Hex looked at him, wondering if she heard correctly.

"What?"

"You are evil. You always were. You, my dear, are a witch."

Hex felt new tears streaming down her face. "F-father! Why are you saying these things!?"

"It doesn't matter... Fate has dealt us all our cards. My death on this bed... and you... I did my best... to make you good... but I see now... I should have taken drastic measures..."

"Father! No! I can be good! I am good! Please!"

"No! Leave me to die in peace..."

Hex left the room with tears in her eyes which only increased as her father spoke his last words.

"You truly live up to your name..."

Present

Hex swiftly made her way around the Nether, looking for her targets. It wasn't long until she found them, though. A small group of wither skeletons were nearby, swords at the ready for no apparent reason. Hex quickly looked for a very special splash potion and tossed it at the group before taking cover behind some netherrack.

A loud explosion was heard, causing Hex to grin. She looked over to find the group reduced to a small pile of skulls. Hex made a grab for them before returning to her portal.

6 Years Ago

A 12-year-old Saber threw another kick at Hex's abdomen, causing the witch to fall down. "Come on, weakling! At least put up a fight! You gotta be tough!" Saber barked. Hex cried a bit and looked up at her sisters. Saber threw another kick while Claret looked at her as if she were a bug.

Suddenly, Rube and Atlas walked to them, chaperoned by Ingot, who towered over them. "What is going on here?" The golem asked in her mechanical voice. Saber put her arms behind her back and smiled innocently. "Oh! Nothing! We're just training lil' ol' Hex here."

The golem woman raised an eyebrow. Hex hoped she would stop her sisters' abuse, but Rube spoke up. "Let's go."

Ingot reluctantly nodded before escorting the sisters away. Saber and Claret grinned before continuing Hex's "training".

Later that night, Hex grabbed a few of her belongings before heading out. She was tired of this. She hated how her sisters treated her: either they punched and kicked her or they pretended she wasn't there. So, the young girl thought up a solution. One she had been thinking about for a long time...

Hex began walking, looking at her map all the while. She knew where she wanted to go and used her new invisibility potions to get there without mob intervention. Fortunately, her swiftness potions allowed her to reach the place quickly.

Hex looked at the Mob Rulers' Village. It stood before her, the entire thing covered by a large stone roof. She was glad she planned this on the day of the rulers' monthly get-together. Hex felt a bit unnerved, but stepped forward anyway... until a figure suddenly appeared in front of her. The girl looked up to see a creature she's only watched from afar.

The enderman grabbed the girl and screeched before teleporting. The duo instantaneously entered a room full of kids around or older than Hex's age. Everyone looked in surprise.

"What the- what is going on here!?" Haze said, glaring at Hex.

"No way! Is that a village ruler?" Ashley said.

"You bet it is! Looks like we'll be eating good tonight!" Yaebi snarled.

Hex put her hands up. "No! Please! I came here to join you!"

"You? Join us? What a joke. You're a villager." Yaebi said, stalking toward Hex.

"No! I'm a mob!"

"No. You're. Not!" Yaebi smacked Hex, causing her to fall. She was surprised by the sudden hostility. She looked up, tears in her eyes, as the ruler children circled her. Skelly stepped forward.

"A little weakling like you dares to compare to us? We are powerful." She kicked the witch. "You are not."

The rulers suddenly began kicking and punching the downed girl. They didn't hold back, either. Hex quickly reached into her inventory to find her invisibility potion. She threw it down and instantly disappeared. The rulers were confused at first, giving the witch ample time to escape.

Hex ran. She didn't know what else to do. The only reason she left home was because of her mistreatment, but now she got the same thing at a place made for monsters like her.

She was truly alone.

As the young witch ran, she saw a house. Logic had left her long ago. All she wanted was shelter. Hex ran to the house and knocked, or rather, banged on the door. Tears streamed down her face as the door opened. A villager in a robe and hat stood. When it spoke, Hex could tell it was a woman. "You! Are you the... your majesty!" The witch kneeled. Hex looked confused.

The witch looked at Hex. "Milady, your... crying? What's happened? Come inside."

The witch allowed Hex to get comfortable and clean herself up. While she did this, Hex told her tale. The witch nodded, staying silent through it all. When Hex finished, the witch had a dark look.

"Those monsters. They won't get away with this."

"What are you going to do?"

"Milady... I'm going to teach you."

"Teach... me?"

"It is time you learned the values of rage... and revenge..."

Hex grinned.

Present

Hex went far from her home to do this experiment, if she could call it that. She only had one shot at this. In one hand, she held a wither skull. In the other, a vial of Chemical X with a special modification. In front of her, her soul sand was arranged in a 'T' shape with two wither skulls on top. Hex looked at the skull in her hand and sighed before stepping forward...

... and putting the skull on the sand.


	19. The Plan

"Hey! Tony! Snap out of it!" Saber said, snapping her fingers in the boy's face. He blinked a few times before smiling, embarrassed. "Eh... sorry. Just zoned out for a second there."

Saber narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, you'd better start focusing! We're almost at the main hall!"

Tony gulped. _'She's right. I should be paying attention if this plan is as risky as she says. But my last few meetings with Hex were... strange. She was acting suspicious... what is she planning?' _

Tony wandered back into his thoughts, causing an impatient Saber to snap him out of it again.

The duo soon arrived at the main hall to find the village rulers seated at a round table with the mob rulers standing around them. Saber sat down while Tony stood next to H. Rube stood up next to Andr and began.

"Okay, everyone. As you all know, some of us have created a plan that, if successful, would prove very useful in this war against Hex and her mutants. However, it would seem our mutual ally is the only one capable of doing this. Tony, please, come here."

The human complied and stood next to Rube, still unaware of the plan, which made him extremely nervous. Rube cleared her throat and continued.

"Tony is going to accompany Andr on a dangerous mission: he is going to do some recruiting in The End."

Everyone gasped, but the meaning was lost to Tony. "What's The End?"

Andr stepped forward to tell him, but Tony had to strain his ears to hear. He noticed she avoided his eyes. "The End is my domain. My endermen come from there, as does my master."

"Who's your master?"

Rube stepped forward. "That is where you come in, Tony. It pains me to send you on such a treacherous journey, but this is our only chance at beating Hex. Tony, you are going to have a little chat with the Enderdragon."

Everyone gasped again, except Tony. "Ender... dragon?"

Andr spoke again. "The most powerful creature known to cubekind, second to Herobrine. The dragon is my master and my creator, and master to all endermen."

Tony gulped and took the information slowly. He looked at Rube. "So, you want me to convince a _dragon _to help us?"

Yaebi smirked. "What's wrong, 'Hero'? Are you too scared?" He spat before laughing. However, he stopped laughing when two certain slime girls began dragging him away, violently. Tony looked at them in horror.

Rube stood in front of the boy. "Tony, don't worry about what that fool says. You do understand why you're going, right?"

"I figured it was for the same reasons as my Herobrine mission: I'm expendable." Tony looked down, but Rube lifted his chin.

"Tony, you've proven yourself far too much to be expendable. Sure, you aren't a ruler, but most of us believe in you. You are a unique human, and as such, the Ender Dragon would no doubt listen to you."

Tony smiled before Rube continued. "Besides, Andr is escorting you, so don't worry!"

"Okay. I'm ready. When do I start?"

Just as the boy said that, a hand grabbed his shoulder, and he disappeared from the room. Atlas walked up to Rube, followed by the slime girls. "Sister, do you think he'll be okay?" Atlas asked.

Rube looked at the girls, smiling sadly. "I... I do not know, but I have faith." She said. Atlas and the slime girls looked at eachother, worried. Unbeknownst to anyone, a pair of eyes glared at them through the window. It was Hex and she was mad. She watched everyone disperse to their own devices, but kept a close eye on her love's suitors.

_'Today's the day...' _She thought, '... _I finally take what's mine...' _

Tony wobbled a bit from the sudden transition. Andr waited for a moment until he regained his composure. The boy looked at the girl, surprised.

"Well, that was sudden! A little warning would have been nice!"

Andr avoided his eyes again. "I don't care about your comfort. We have a mission. Follow me and keep your gaze to the ground."

With that, Andr walked forward. Tony raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told. It was then that he noticed he was in a cave. "Uh... where are we?"

"We are in my home. This is the Grand Stronghold. I rule over the world's endermen from here."

As if on cue, Tony heard gurgling noises, the same ones he heard when he first arrived in the mob village. As if sensing his curiosity, Andr spoke. "Keep your head down. One peek at their faces and they will attack."

Tony gulped and kept his gaze to the floor, looking at the endermen's slender legs. He followed the endergirl through various rooms until the duo stopped. In this room, Tony felt a... sinister atmosphere. It felt like pure evil. Andr turned around.

"Okay, you can look now."

Tony complied and gasped. In front of him was a large portal. It was solid black surrounded by small pillars. Each pillar had a sinister looking eye on top of it.

Andr and Tony walked toward the portal, the latter leaning in to look at the darkness. This, however, gave the former a chance to push the boy in before following along.

H floated down the Village Castle's main hallway, wandering aimlessly. She did this often. This time, however, she was stopped.

"Hello, H." Hex said, appearing in front of H. The god-like girl did not react.

"You shouldn't be here."

"I know, but I just thought I'd bring a little gift for you!" Hex said, pulling a bottle of Chemical X from her inventory. H eyed it.

"What do you plan to do with that?"

"Don't play dumb. I heard you try to coax my love into giving this to you. I'm just here to save him the trouble." Hex tossed the bottle to H, who accepted it, carefully. Hex smirked. "Now, I want a favor..."

The rulers still sat in the main meeting room, waiting for Tony and Andr to return. They all were conversing and mingling until the room doors slammed open. Everyone was shocked to see H floating in with Hex in tow.

"What are you doing here! H, what is going on!?" Blazette yelled.

Hex grinned. "I'm here to tell you all a little something about my sweetums..."

Tony felt a rush of nausea flow through him at his sudden interdimensional travel. He felt air flow around him until it stopped. Not too long after that, he stopped as well... face-first into the ground. The boy coughed and regained his composure before standing and looking at his new surroundings. Tony was in a small room made entirely out of a material Tony couldn't identify. He touched it, carefully. It felt like normal stone, but was very cold.

Andr suddenly appeared next to him. "Tony, stay here. I'm going to speak to her for a moment."

With that, the endergirl once again disappeared from existence.

Tony waited in his little box, the only sounds he could hear being the constant gurgling of endermen. The boy reasoned that there must be quite a lot outside. Just as this thought crossed his mind, Andr reappeared next to him.

"She's ready."

Tony walked out of the small box with Andr in the lead. Now free, he had a better look around the area. It was completely made out of the strange stony block with several towers of obsidian sprouting out. The "island" seemed to float on nothing but an endless void of darkness and was covered by an eerie, dim light.

And the endermen.

Tony kept his head down as he and Andr walked past them. A whole crowd of them. They lined up, as if to offer a path for their ruler. Andr noticed the boy's sudden nerves, but spoke nothing of it. The duo reached the center of the island, where a strange bedrock structure stood. Andr told Tony he could look up now, which he did.

To his amazement, he saw a creature flying in the distance. Its body was jet black except for its eyes, which glowed purple. It had a pair of large wings that carried its even larger body with ease. The beast roared with a mouth full of menacing teeth. Tony couldn't believe his eyes; a real dragon! _'I shouldn't be this surprised after all I've been through in this world, but a _real _dragon!?' _

The beast descended over the strange structure, looking down on the duo. Andr knelt down and Tony followed. This seemed to please the beast as it suddenly began... shrinking? The dragon's body shrunk and began to glow purple as it changed shape. The mammoth monster body became more sleek and feminine. When the light went away, a new being stood.

This was a woman who stood a bit taller than Tony. Her hair was black, but her eyes were a sinister purple. She wore a black dress that ended in a tear at her lower thigh. The most astounding features she bore were her most natural. Her smile contained long fangs and her back still had its enormous wingspan.

The Dragon looked at Andr, then at Tony, narrowing her eyes. "So, this is the human I've heard so much about." She bent down and lifted Tony's chin. The boy was a bit unnerved by the way she spat the word ''human". The Dragon waved for Tony to stand, to which he complied. Andr followed. The Dragon turned Tony's face around, as if examining him. She smirked.

"My, my. I've dealt with my fair share of humans, but you certainly are a piece of work. You look like a ruler, but you're a true human."

"H-how can you tell?"

The Dragon smiled before breathing in Tony's scent. The boy blushed as she whispered close to his ear. "All you humans have that delicious scent of... _fear_. So unique to your race."

The Dragon walked to her podium, hips swaying hypnotically. She sat down and looked at her visitors, eyes glowing bright. "Now why have you come to my domain?"

Tony gulped and stepped forward. "I- _we _have come to ask for your help your, er, majesty."

The Dragon chuckled. "Oh! Such pleasantries from a human. This is a first. Keep this up and I might have to make you my king." She teased.

Tony's face turned beat red, but he kept his ground.

"I... came on behalf of the the rulers of the Mainland. I am, uh, hoping to offer a temporary alliance."

"... Alright."

"I'm only asking because our numbers- wait, what?"

"I said yes. I know what that wicked witch is doing to my precious endermen. My daughter has given me information about this before."

Andr looked down, not saying anything. Tony looked at the Dragon, incredulously.

"This was much easier than I expected."

The Dragon raised an eyebrow. "Were you expecting a battle? That can be arranged..."

"Nope! No! That's not necessary."

The Dragon smirked. "Well then, human, I shall see you on the battlefield."

"I-indeed, Your Highness."

"Oh! More pleasantries! I'm getting a bit excited."

Andr blushed madly. "Mother!"

"What? I'm only teasing him!"

Andr and Tony bid their goodbyes to the Dragon before the former latched onto the human's shoulder and teleported them both away.

Tony and Andr popped up back in the Main Hall, the former stumbling a bit from the nausea of switching dimensions. A sudden familiar voice brought Tony back to his senses.

"Hi, Sweetums!"


	20. The Frenemy of My Enemy?

Tony looked in horror as Hex stood in the midst of the mob and village rulers. The boy felt his entire being become engulfed in fear at the witch's loving gaze. The mob rulers watched Tony, carefully, while the village rulers looked at him with unsure gazes.

Rube stepped forward. "Tony, did the... the mission go as planned?"

The boy noticed the crack in her voice, but nodded. Rube nodded as well, but couldn't speak. The entire room fell silent until Hex stepped forward.

"Sweety, tell them."

"T-tell them?"

"Tell them about our little talks."

Tony kept his eyes on Hex, but he could practically feel the glares of his comrades. Atlas walked up to Tony, her head down. "Tony... tell us it's not true... you haven't been talking to her... right?" Her voice was full of hope and despair, and Tony could feel it. He looked at Atlas, then at Hex, then at everyone else. Tony noticed the mob rulers' gazes becoming a mirror image of the ones they had when he first met them.

Only this time, the village rulers joined in. The only ones who didn't look at him that way were Slag and Mire, who didn't look his way at all.

Tony sighed. "I... I have been speaking to Hex-"

No sooner did the words come out that Tony felt a searing pain on his cheek as he stumbled back.

Atlas had slapped him.

Tony was shocked, to say the least. All of the time he'd spent with Atlas flashed before his eyes, but the images were quickly overshadowed by his time with Hex as he looked at Atlas' face. She was crying.

Yaebi's face showed pure rage. "You... _traitor_!" He spat. Tony kept his head down.

"N-no! Let me explain-"

"You don't get to explain! I'll destroy you myself if I have to!" Yaebi jumped over the table and lunged at Tony...

...only to be blocked by a sudden placing of glass blocks. Through them he saw the death glare of Hex, which was quickly replaced with a wicked smile.

"Sorry, but I already gave my exchange in this little trade. If you'll excuse us..."

Hex suddenly dropped a potion on the ground, causing her and Tony to disappear.

The human looked around frantically, wondering what just happened. He was still in the room with all the rulers looking at him, incredulously. Hex was nowhere to be seen. _'Sh-she _abandoned _me!?' _Tony thought. He put his arms up to block the oncoming attacks, but then he noticed something strange: he couldn't see his arms.

That's when Tony realized the rulers weren't looking _at _him. They were looking _through _him. Before he could form any other questions, another invisible force grabbed his hand and began dragging him along.

Once outside, Hex reappeared in front of Tony. "We made it, my love! We have to keep moving!" She said, grabbing a strange orb from her inventory. Tony looked at her in anger. "Wh-what!? What makes you think I'd- mph!" Tony was cut off by Hex throwing the orb far away and latching onto his lips, deeply kissing him.

The duo then disappeared.

Yaebi punched the walls over and over, causing block after block to disappear. In the midst of his tantrum, he started ranting. "I knew this would happen! I just knew it! That untrustworthy, no good, conniving-"

"Yaebi! Calm down! You're scaring Hamilton." Blazette said, patting the scared piggirl on the head. Yaebi glared.

"I don't care! She was as much a fool as all of you for trusting that human! I was the only one with a little sense!"

Skelly looked at Atlas, who was still crying. The skeleton girl then looked at Yaebi. "That's enough."

"Enough? _Enough_!? That human not only was untrustworthy, but he was also working with Hex! She knows our plans now! That boy has enough of our information to destroy our side in this war!"

Slag scoffed. "Hold up! We don't know if Tony is giving up all of our information! Besides, he's helped us enough for us-"

"I don't care how much he's helped! The only reason we needed his help was to destroy the very person he cooperated with!"

Slag and Mire argued with Yaebi while everyone else listened.

Everyone except Atlas, who just continued to cry.

AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the shorter chapter! I just wanted to thank everyone for their support and suggestions! This story is doing a lot better than expected! Don't worry! Tge next few chapters will be a bit more lengthy.

Sincerely,

reptilia321


	21. A New Domain

Hex held Tony as she continued to throw her ender pearls. The human boy had fallen unconscious after the first few throws. _'It is expected. Humans get harmed when using the pearls.' _Hex thought, glancing at Tony, lovingly.

After a few more pearl throws, Hex knew they were close to her home. She decided to walk the rest of the way. Upon arrival, Hex immediately gathered up some supplies into her inventory. She knew she needed a lot of supplies, after all, she had been planning this for quite some time.

When everything was said and done, the witch girl supported Tony onto her shoulder before hitting a pressure plate on the ground, causing the wall to open. Hex and Tony quickly went through the entrance and walked down a long corridor. Eventually, the two reached a dark room. It was completely empty, except for the menacing Nether Portal in the center. Hex pecked the unconscious Tony on the cheek before jumping into the portal.

Hex landed in a castle that was all too familiar to her. She did build it, after all. She laid Tony down onto several wool blocks, as beds would explode immediately. Hex decided to sit and wait for her love to wake, but suddenly had an idea.

"I'd better wear something more comfortable for our... celebration..."

With that, the young witch giddily scampered off.

Atlas sat in her darkened room, staring at a flowerpot. It contained the flower Tony gave to her the day they went to the garden. Half of her mind told her to smash it while the other half told her to have hope.

_'Have hope in what? Maybe I should have listened to the mobs. I'm just glad Tony was the _only _loss to the alliance.' _She thought. Atlas continued to stare until she heard a strange noise. It was a slight, wet, slurping sound. She suddenly looked to her door to see Slag and Mire squirming through the cracks.

"Atlas! Are you awake?" Mire called.

"..."

Slag grew aggravated. "We know you're in here! C'mon!"

With that, the slime girls squished through the door. Atlas just kept staring at the plant. Mire waved a hand in front of the librarian, to no avail. Steam began to rise from Slag's head. She shot a small dose of lava onto Atlas' bed. The librarian jumped in surprise. "You psycho! Why in the name of Notch did-"

"Now that we have your attention, we need to talk."

Mire stood in front of Slag. "We need to rescue Tony!"

Atlas looked at them, blankly. "From what? He's with the one he truly loves now."

Slag scoffed. "You can't honestly believe that."

"Why else would he have had so much... private time... with her?" Atlas said, trying not to picture Hex and Tony _together_.

Mire giggled. "Tony doesn't seem like the kind of guy to initiate _that_."

Atlas sighed. Slag and Mire looked at eachother before sighing as well. They left the room, leaving a confused Atlas behind.

"Oooh... oh! My head!" Tony said as he slowly sat up. He looked at his surroundings and panicked when he didn't recognize them. _'Where am I? The last thing I remember is-' _

Tony's eyes went wide. "Hex!"

The boy stood to exit the room, but immediately regretted it. His body felt extremely sore, so he sat back down. Tony decided instead to examine his new surroundings. The room was made completely out of dark bricks. A few chests were placed around, alongside crafting tables and potion brewers. Bookshelves were stacked along the side of the room. The most striking feature of his surroundings, however, was the intense heat. Tony was visibly sweating as the temperature seemed to rise with every moment.

The boy began to formulate a plan. '_Apparently, Hex seems to have taken me to another castle, which is strange. The rulers would certainly have noticed-' _

Tony's train of thought was cut off as his mind suddenly shifted to his confrontation with the rulers. The hateful glares they gave him.

The slap Atlas gave him.

A sudden realization practically punched the human in the gut. _'Even if I do escape from Hex, I won't have anywhere else to go. The rulers would have me killed on sight.' _

His sadness shone on his face like a beacon. "You get it now, don't you?" A voice called. Tony looked up... and blushed.

Hex stood at the entrance of the room, watching Tony, lustfully. Her normally long dress was hemmed just above her knees. She wore black stockings and her usual shoes. The top of her dress, which was usually accompanied by sleeves, no longer was. Tony's face became even redder.

"H-Hex? Y-your clothes!"

"I know, right! It's perfect for our celebration!"

"C-c-celebration?"

"We're celebrating your escape from those no-good rulers! We can finally be together!"

The witch girl lunged at Tony, landing on top of him. She pulled him into a deep kiss before pulling away and cuddling his chest. Tony's face was extremely red.

"H-Hex... you can't honestly believe we'll be hidden here forever. The rulers wouldn't overlook a giant castle."

"They would if it's really far away."

"Exactly, how far away are we?"

Hex smiled before grabbing Tony's hand and dragging him from the bed. The boy mentally groaned the soreness he felt, but figured it was worth it to get some answers.

Hex led Tony through a long corridor before finally exiting on a bridge.

Tony's eyes widened.

The entire world was made from red, gnarly-looking blocks and bedrock. There were hills upon hills of the blocks and strange pig creatures walked among them. The oceans were made of lava and far-off, Tony thought he saw a flying octopus! The boy was sweating, not only because of the intense heat.

Hex smiled brightly. "Welcome to the Nether!"

AN: Hello again! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This is just a heads-up to let ya know that I have a poll going on! Yes, it is relevant to the story. Check it out!

Sincerely,

reptilia321


	22. My Time In Hell

Day One

Tony stared at the landscape of the Nether, not sure what to make of it. Hex grinned at him. "I'm so glad you're here."

"H-Hex! We can't stay here!"

"Why not?"

"Don't the magma cubes and blazes reside here? Not to mention the pigmen."

"Pft. If it's the rulers you're worried about, they'll be too busy in the Overworld with my mutants. We can stay here forever! Speaking of which..." Hex hugged the boy's arm close. Tony blushed as she pulled him back into the castle. Tony pulled away from the girl. "W-what are you doing?"

"Starting the celebration, of course. Don't you want to celebrate this occasion?"

_'Celebrate my own kidnapping? Stockholm's much?' _Tony thought, gulping. He stepped back and tried to find his words, carefully. The last thing he wanted was the unstable witch girl to suddenly go berserk.

"Eh, well. I don't think celebrating is appropriate at a time like this. You know, I just woke up and found myself in an alternate dimension. We should take things slow." He stammered.

Hex narrowed her eyes at the boy before smiling. "You're right! Wouldn't want to rush complete bliss, now do we? I'll go get dinner ready."

With that, Hex skipped away, overcome with joy. Tony, on the other hand, was overcome with dread.

Day 4

Tony sat in his bed, looking at the ceiling. He had taken to counting the individual bricks to pass the time after waking up. His face was bright red, and for good reason: Hex was snuggled close to him, practically attached to his torso.

It had been like this every morning for the past few days. Though Tony fought off the witch girl's advances when he was awake, there was nothing he could do to stop her from stealing a spot on his bed.

Tony had reached brick 242 before Hex began to stir. The witch opened her eyes and smiled. She loved waking up to the sight of her "prize". Tony always tried avoiding her gaze, but it was difficult with such close proximity. Hex got off the bed and stretched. Tony looked back at the ceiling, continuing his count.

Hex looked at the boy, pouting. "Are you just gonna lay there all day? I have a big day planned for us!"

"..."

"Come on, Lazybones!"

Hex pulled Tony from the bed. The boy internally sighed before succumbing to Hex's begging. He stood from the bed and grabbed his backpack before following Hex out the door.

Hex skipped across the scorched landscape, repeatedly glancing back at Tony, who lagged behind. He looked around at the scenery. Having never seen lava before, it was quite the sight to behold as an ocean of it stretched before.

They had passed up hordes of harmless zombie pigmen and scores of magma cubes of all sizes. Tony had to admit, it was amazing to see these creatures up close and personal. The boy took his journal out to update it.

Soon, Hex stopped at a cliff, Tony beside her. The boy stayed back a bit while Hex just took in the sights. She looked back at Tony, who seemed awestruck.

"Pretty amazing, right?"

"Uh... yeah." He said, disdain thick in his voice. Hex raised an eyebrow.

"Is this... not striking your fancy?"

"It would be more fascinating if I..." Tony muttered the rest, inaudibly. Hex frowned, causing the boy to sigh and continue. "It would be more fascinating if I wasn't here against my will!"

Hex paused at his statement. Tony immediately regretted saying it, but had no reason not to. Hex _did _cause all of this.

The witch girl stared at Tony for a moment before frowning. "You... ungrateful fool. I rescued you."

"After you told the rulers!"

"Told them what? The truth? They would have found out anyway! Besides, look what they did! They shunned you!"

"Yes, but-"

"No! They shunned and attacked you, all because of our love! I rescued you! I gave you a home!"

Tony remained silent, not knowing how to answer. Hex walked up to him and placed a hand on his cheek.

"Let's go back. Maybe by then you'll realize your mistaken thinking."

Day 6

Tony's head hurt. He had been thinking about Hex's words, which was a lot easier since she had been giving him the silent treatment since their talk.

_'I hate myself for saying it... but she's right. Even if I do manage to escape, where will I go? My old allies want me dead.' _

The boy's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden scream outside. Tony quickly ran to a window. Looking out, he saw Hex being chased by a ghast. It shot fireball after fireball at the witch, who ran in fear. Tony knew he shouldn't let Hex die. _'Argh! But what can I do? I don't have my-' _

He suddenly saw his iron sword leaning on the wall.

_'What? How did- nevermind.' _

He quickly picked up the sword and ran.

Hex began to visibly sweat as the ghast's fireballs came closer and closer. Hex turned in time to see a fireball come right at her...

... and to see Tony swat it away with the sword. He looked just as surprised as her. _'I am so glad that worked. Definitely adding that to the journal.' _

The ghast cried out and shot a fireball again. Tony tackled Hex out of the way.

He blushed as he was now on top of Hex, who blushed as well. The ghast cried out again, and the duo rolled out of the way just as a fireball landed.

_'I am having the weirdest case of deja vu.' _Tony thought.

Tony stood and waited. He kept his sword ready. The ghast eyed him before shooting the fireball. Tony aimed and swung his sword, hitting the fireball and launching it at the ghast. The beast opened its mouth to launch another, but accidentally swallowed the incoming one instead.

The ghast cried out as smoke puffed out of its mouth. A few fresh tears streamed from its eyes before flying off. Tony helped Hex up, receiving a hug in return. He reluctantly returned the hug. Hex cried into his shoulder.

"Thank you! That beast almost got me!"

"I-it's okay now. It's gone. I... I'm glad you're okay."

"Hm? But I thought you were mad at me?"

"I am, but that won't solve any of my problems. The rulers want me dead. No amount of rage is going to fix that." Hex smiled and attempted to hug Tony, but was rejected. "Don't get me wrong, Hex. You don't have my complete trust."

"Then I'll earn it." The witch assured.

The boy walked back to the castle. Hex waited for him to go inside before smiling. "All according to plan..."

Day 9

Hex was outside with Tony. At first, the boy didn't know what to think when Hex asked to train him. He figured it was just another attempt to gain his trust.

Hex held a potion in each hand. "Tony, I'm going to teach you about potions."

"Potions? Like, how to make them?"

"Yes, but also what they do." Just as she said that, Hex threw a potion at Tony. The boy didn't have time to react as it suddenly hit him in the chest. The potion splashed on him before suddenly disappearing. Tony was about to scold Hex, but suddenly felt strange. His muscles felt tingly and his body felt rejuvenated. Hex smirked.

"Do you feel the power? That was a little strength potion I whipped up."

Tony looked at his hands. "This feels strange... I'm really stronger?"

"Yes, but that potion is only for demonstration. The effects should wear off in about a minute or so. Here, try this."

Hex handed Tony another potion. He eyed it before taking a drink. Suddenly, the area became clearer and brighter. Hex giggled. "That was a night-vision potion. It's really good for seeing in the dark."

"This is amazing! There must be potions for everything!"

"Just about. Here, I want you to have this." Hex pulled a book from her inventory and handed it to Tony. The boy grabbed it and opened it. Flipping through the pages, Tony found various recipes for basic potions. Hex smirked. "Those are just ordinary potions. I have the better ones in my master book. I have potions ranging from my mutant ones to explosives to human ones to-"

"Wait, _human _ones?"

Hex thought for a moment before smiling.

Tony followed the witch girl down a long flight of stairs. He could tell they were underground by the intensity of the heat. Hex seemed happy to be there. "This is going to be the ultimate test of trust!"

"How so? Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you a little experiment I worked on."

The duo continued down the stairs until they came to a long corridor lit by torches. Hex led the way until they reached a large window that peaked into an even larger room. The witch quickly threw an invisibility potion at Tony.

"Huh? What was-"

"Shh! Look!" Hex said, pointing to the window. Tony raised an eyebrow before going to the glass. He peeked inside and gasped. The room looked badly damaged. The floors and walls had been blown to pieces. It was a wonder how the glass remained intact.

In the center of it all stood a woman. She was rather tall, nearly as tall as the Enderdragon. She looked exactly like Skelli, but with large differences. Her skin was charcoal black while her hair and clothes were even darker. Her eyes were lifeless and gray. The most astounding of her traits, however, was the presence of two wither skulls floating around her, covered in plumes of smoke.

Hex grinned. "I'd like you to meet the Wither."

"The... Wither? Who's that?"

"It's my contingency plan in case that pesky dragon comes along. I made a potion specifically designed to make it more like a ruler. It's still not too bright, but its power has multiplied. Don't you worry about it, though. As long as it doesn't see you, you'll be fine. The Wither hates humans."

Tony looked down at the creature, who seemingly stared back. Tony shuddered and backed away. "A-are you going to use that on the rulers?"

Hex sensed the apprehension in his voice. She decided on what she said next carefully.

"O-only if they attack us! I won't just use the Wither without reason. I'm not a monster..." The last part of her words were solemn. Hex did a mental double take. She didn't mean for the last part to slip out as her cruel memories returned. Tony noticed her sudden downcast and sighed.

Hex was pulled away from her thoughts as a sudden warmth enveloped her. It was Tony's embrace. The boy held her tight. "I... I know you're not."

Hex smiled a little. Tony put on a sad smile as well, but also noticed something: in that smile, Tony didn't see the insane witch who kidnapped him and threatened to destroy the world. Instead, he saw the other witch, the one who he befriended through the continuous conversations they had. Tony held onto the thought as he gently pulled from Hex and walked back upstairs. "Let's, ah, continue the potion training." He said.

Hex stayed behind, still smiling, feeling warmth fill her chest.

Day 15

Tony and Hex sat across from eachother on the bed. Hex told Tony of the wonders of Minecraftia, good and bad. The boy filled out his journal vigorously, amazed at the strange physics of the world. Normal iron buckets holding magma without melting? Rocks that burn forever? The Village Castle library didn't have any of these basics in it.

After Hex finished a section, she suddenly found herself staring at Tony, dreamily, as he wrote the notes. The boy, oblivious to her staring, smiled. "You know, there's going to be a day where I won't need this anymore. Then again it'll be pretty hard to memorize all of this." He looked up. "Thanks for- mph!" Tony was interrupted as Hex's lips connected with his. It was only for a few moments, but it felt like time stood at a halt. Hex pulled away, blushing profusely.

"I-I'm sorry... I just couldn't... you looked so..." She stumbled around with her words. Tony smiled a bit, reeling from the sudden surprise. "It's alright, Hex."

Tony continued writing, eventually finding himself drift into his thoughts. He found it oddly amazing how Hex's personality shifted so much. It was terrifying, for sure, but it also proved this witch, this creature of chaos and misfortune, had a good side.

The boy was so lost in thought, he almost didn't hear Hex. "Tony?"

"Hm?"

"I have to ask you something. It's kind of important to me."

"Uh, okay. Shoot."

"Well, the mob rulers... I saw what happened when you first met them... they were cruel..."

"Not all of them... but yeah, it was harsh."

"Well, why did you stay loyal to them? I get you were treated better under the village rulers, but they all still saw you as a measly human. Tell me... why?"

Tony had to think about that. Why, after the acts of cruelty from the mobs? Why, after his inferiority to the villagers? Just... why?

He knew the answer.

"Hex... in the context of the situation... getting mad wouldn't have solved anything."

"The... situation?"

"Well, yeah. I'm only human. What can I do to superpowered beings?"

"So, you were loyal out of fear?"

"Of course not. I stayed loyal to them because of... you, I guess. We all had a common goal: save the world."

Hex took in the information. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. She knew this to be true.

Day 18

Tony sat on the bed, resting. He figured today to be a lazy day. Hex had taken him exploring so much the past few days, he could very well find his way through every nook and cranny of the immediate Nether.

The boy's rest did not last long, however, as Hex suddenly walked in. "Hey, I brought you something." She said. Tony smiled. "Really? You didn't have to-"

"No, I _really _think you should have it."

Hex held out a small box. Tony raised an eyebrow, but opened it anyway. Inside, there was a ring. Tony picked up the small thing and examined it. It was made of wood and had strange markings etched on the sides. Tony smiled.

"Wow... this is awesome!"

Hex giggled. "Don't you know what it means?"

The boy shook his head. Hex's face became even redder. "Well, all rulers have these rings to give to their special someone one day. Tony, I want you to rule over the witches with me."

The boy looked stunned. Hex was , quite literally, proposing to him. Tony was momentarily thrilled, but then saddened. His mind flashed images of Slag and Mire. The rulers.

Atlas.

Tony sighed and put the ring back. "Hex... I can't. I just... I'm so sorry..." He said. Hex was shocked, but remained calm. "N-no. It's fine. It's only been a few weeks. No need to... rush things..." She hurried out the room with the box, tears coming in. Tony felt his chest tighten.

Day 19

Tony woke the next morning, feeling something was a bit out of place. He was alone on the bed. Tony sat up to look around the room.

Hex was nowhere to be found.

Instead, he found a glass of water next to the bed. On it, there was a note:

_Sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to be so sudden. _

_I wanted to make it up to you, but there's only so much to make in the Nether! _

_I figured water would suffice. _

_Your Loving Admirer, _

_Hex _

Tony chuckled a bit at the irony of his kidnapper apologizing for being sudden. He sighed and took the glass. He did feel a tad parched. He drank the water and laid back down. No sooner did he do that he began feeling strange. Hex suddenly walked in, grinning. The last thing the boy saw before blacking out was the dark intensity of her eyes.

Hex smiled as the boy's body stiffened. He stood automatically, almost robot-like. His eyes were glazed over, hypnotized. Hex looked at the boy and jumped for joy.

"It worked! My hypno potion worked! Now we can finally rule together!" She said, hugging Tony.

The hypnotized boy automatically hugged back.


	23. Slag & Mire

Slag and Mire examined their map, which was covered in X marks. The former rubbed her head. "Argh! This is aggravating! We can't find him anywhere!" Steam began to rise from Slag's body.

"Whoa! Calm down, Slag! We will find him. He couldn't just disappear!"

"We've been searching for weeks! How could Hex have kept him hidden!? Wouldn't he have come back on his own by now?"

"I... don't know, but we can't give up! Atlas already did."

The girls sighed before continuing to look at their map. However, their door suddenly opened, revealing Ashley. "Slag, we gotta go home for a little bit. We need to check on Cinder." She said.

Slag raised an eyebrow. She'd almost forgotten about her younger sister in the Nether. Ever since the last big mutant battle, Ashley and Haze thought it would be a better idea to send the youngest slimes home for safety.

"Why? I'm sure our faithful servants can take care of her."

"True, but we also need to check on our subjects."

Slag was about to reply, but she suddenly had an idea. The lava girl glanced back at her map before nodding. "You know, you're right. We should totally check up on little sis!"

Ashley nodded, but felt a sense of suspicion growing in her. She decided to shrug it off and left to prepare the portal. Slag jumped for joy before going back to the map. Mire raised an eyebrow. "Eh... what's up with you?"

"Think about it! Hex and Tony are nowhere to be found! If we've searched everywhere here..."

Mire's eyes widened. "... then he must be there! In the Nether! That hussy witch took him to the Nether of all places to keep him _safe_?"

"If he's there, I'll find him. Don't you worry."

"Um, I'm going with you. What if he's tied up? If you touch him, he'll burn."

"Good point. Besides, it'll be a faster search with both of us looking."

Slag and Mire agreed on their plan before gathering their necessary tools and heading out to meet Ashley.

It wasn't long before the portal was good to go. Slag smiled at it. She had to admit, it felt good to be going back after spending so much time in Overworld, despite the circumstances. Mire seemed less than excited. The Nether was a dangerous place.

And a hot one. Not the ideal biome for a slime.

They quickly stepped into the portal, giving the slime girl a feeling of deja vu...

_11 Years Ago_

_Mire looked at the large, purple "door". It looked ominous and made the scariest noises. A 14-year-old Haze grabbed her hand. Mire looked at her sister and smiled. This was Mire's first time going to the Nether. _

_Haze led the girl into the portal. It felt strange, almost giving a sense of dread, as the world warped and disappeared. _

_Mire closed her eyes, not opening them again until the strange feeling passed. When it did, she opened her eyes to a new place. It was fire and lava and red, burning rocks. However, the strangest thing was who was waiting for them: two girls, one about her age and another about Haze's age. _

_Haze kneeled down next to Mire, smiling. "Listen, I need to talk with Ms. Ashley over there, okay? You go on and play with her little sister." _

_Mire nodded and gave Haze a hug before slowly approaching the magma cubes rulers. _

_Ashley bent over. "Well, hi there! Are you here with your big sister?" _

_"Uh... yes..." She replied. _

_"Great! There's someone I want you to meet!" Ashley gestured for the. little girl behind her to come forward. _

_Mire looked at the girl face-to-face. _

_Mire blinked. The girl did, too. _

_Ashley smiled, triumphantly. "This is my little sister, Slag. You two play nice now." She said as she joined Haze. _

_The little girls looked at each other, unsure of one another. _

Present Day

Mire smiled at this memory. It was the day she met her best friend. As she reminisced, she didn't notice the rest of the group approaching a large structure. Slag smiled a bit at it.

"Man, I feel like it's been ages since we've been back here."

Ashley nodded. "Which is why we need to check up on things."

The trio headed into the large netherbrick castle. It was about as big as the Village Castle and had tall towers of fire and lava streaming around it. Ashley led the way while Slag and Mire lagged behind.

"So what's the plan?" The green girl asked.

"First, we're going to check on Cinder. Then, Ashley might give us some freedom to explore."

"Alright. Let's do it."

Inside the castle, Ashley called out, "Hello? Anyone home?" This led to the sound of rapid footsteps before a small blob ran into Ashley. It stuck to her hip, eventually morphing into the shape of a little girl. She smiled. "Ashley! You're back!"

The taller magma girl lifted up Cinder. "You bet! But I'm not alone..."

Cinder raised an eyebrow before gasping and looking at the door just as Slag and Mire came in. Cinder ran up to them and tried to hug them both with her smaller arms. Slag looked at her little sister, affectionately. She was the spitting image of Ashley and herself.

Cinder began skipping around the two in joy. Ashley smiled and began walking away. "I'm going to go take care of business. Cinder, can you keep those two out of trouble?" She joked. The little girl nodded. "Okay!"

Cinder walked fast as she led the girls to her room. Slag and Mire gigged as the little girl practically bounced off the walls in joy. _'Well, what else would one expect from a little girl alone in a castle with only lava slime servants?' _Mire thought. Cinder eventually reached her room and stood at the doorway.

"I now present my super duper room!" She said, opening the door. Slag and Mire had seen the room hundreds of times before, but for Cinder they acted surprised every time.

"Whoa! Did you just craft this carpet? Amazing!" Mire said.

"I just love what you've done with the place!" Slag complimented, putting a hand on her forehead. Cinder giggled at their exaggeration.

"I'm glad you guys are here. It's been lonely here. I've only seen the magma cubes, some pigmen, a funny boy, a-"

"Wait a second. What do you mean _funny boy_?"

Cinder put a little hand on her chin. "Well..."

_A Few Weeks Ago_

_Cinder carefully slid out of her bedroom window. She had to be extremely quiet if she wanted to sneak out successfully. _

_Once she reached the ground, she ran, giggling all the while. She had been in the castle for a while. She wanted to explore! Cinder lost track of how long she ran, but knew how to get home. She did live here after all. _

_However, before she could start playing, she heard a scream. Cinder jumped a bit at the suddenness of it, but held her ground. She slowly approached the edge of the cliff she was on and laid down out of sight. In front of her, a girl with a funny hat was on the ground and a boy with a sword stood in front of her. In front of both of them was an angry ghast. _

_Cinder watched as the ghast shot fireballs at the two, the boy practically dancing to get out of the way. Cinder giggled at his funny movements. Eventually, he swung his sword at one of the ghast fireballs, launching it into the creature's mouth. Cinder felt a bit bad for the crying beast, but still giggled a bit. _

"... after that, I came back home and went to bed." Cinder said, finishing her story. Slag and Mire were shocked. Tony saved Hex!?

Mire held Cinder's hand. "Can you show us where you went?"

Cinder skipped ahead while Slag and Mire kept a watchful eye out. Mire whispered to Slag, "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Cinder? This could be dangerous."

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to her. I have a plan."

It wasn't long before they finally reached the cliff where Cinder found Tony. Slag and Mire were shocked at the fortress in front of them. It looked like any other one in the Nether. "No wonder we couldn't find him. He's well camouflaged." Slag said. She turned to Cinder and kneeled.

"Okay, sis. I need you to stay here, okay?"

"What? Why?"

"Because it's dangerous. The lady with the funny hat could hurt you!"

Cinder still looked unconvinced. Slag smirked. "If you stay here, I'll find you some of the best charcoal in the Overworld."

Cinder's face lit up before nodding vigorously. She, then, sat down and waited.

Slag and Mire slowly made their way down the cliff, sliding along and keeping a watchful eye out for Hex or any new mutants. Once at the bottom, they stealthily squirmed towards the southern wall. Slag examined the area.

"I think there's only one entrance."

Mire scoffed. "How else would you make sure your captives don't escape?"

The girls ran toward the large double doors that led into the castle. Inside, it was set up like any other fortress. "How long did Hex set this up? This place looks like it could just be looked over with all of the detail she put in!"

"Sh! We don't know where she is. We must be quiet."

The girls snuck through the winding corridors, stopping at every sound they heard. They began to move a bit faster when they reached a long hallway. At the end they saw a sword, an iron one, just like Tony's!

"Look! Do you see tha- mph!" Slag put a hand over Mire's mouth as they heard a voice coming from the room ahead.

It was Hex. "Oh, I'm just so happy you've finally come to your senses, Tony! Or rather, out of them! Hehehehe! I'm going to get us a little something to celebrate!"

Slag and Mire quickly jumped out of the corridor windows, sticking to the walls outside. Hex walked through the corridor, humming. When she was out of earshot, the girls slid back in and made their way into the room.

Once inside, they gasped. There was Tony, standing in the center of the room. Slag and Mire ran to him and hugged him. "Tony! We finally found you!" Mire said. They were both so relieved that they almost didn't hear the sizzling sound of Tony's clothes against Slag's lava skin. The girls jumped back. Part of Tony's shirt was gone from the burning, but no skin damage. However, the girls noticed that Tony hadn't yelled in pain.

Or said _anything _for that matter.

Mire waved a hand in front of his face to no avail. His eyes were locked in front of him, the life practically drained from them. Slag poked him in the arm, leaving a red mark.

Still nothing.

"What in the name of Notch did she do to him?" Slag said.

"She… hypnotized him! We gotta get him out of here!" Mire stretched her arms around Tony before lifting him on her back. The girls quickly made their way out of the fortress.

Cinder amused herself by playing tag with a mini magma cube, who seemed to enjoy itself. It hopped away as Slag and Mire came into view. Cinder smiled as she recognized the boy. "The funny boy!"

"No time for introductions! We gotta go!" Slag said, grabbing Cinder's hand.

The group eventually made it to the castle, practically banging on the doors. After a moment, Ashley threw them open. "Slag!? Cinder!? What are you doing out-" She was interrupted by Mire setting something in the floor. Ashley felt her blood boil as she saw that it was Tony.

Slag held a hand in front of her before she could do anything. Ashley reluctantly complied and glared at Tony before noticing his demeanor. "What happened to him? Where did you find him?"

"We found Hex's lair. She hypnotized Tony!"

Ashley looked at the boy's eyes and shuddered. He was hypnotized alright. The lava woman sighed. "We must return to the Overworld."

Hex walked into her lair, still humming the tune from earlier. She held in her inventory stacks of rotten flesh and gold nuggets. "Deary? I'm back! I can't wait for you to try my new recipe-" Her voice stopped as she gazed at the empty room before her. Tony was nowhere to be found! Hex's blood began to run cold as she looked around the room for a clue as to where her love was.

That's when she saw it.

A lone piece of red, magma-hot slime sat in the middle of the floor. Hex clenched her fists and looked to the sky before letting out a vicious scream.


	24. Trance-ferred

The Village rulers sat at their stands in the council room, the Mob rulers on either side of them. They looked down at the boy in front of them, but he wasn't looking at them. His eyes were gazing forward, lifeless. When the slime girls first brought him in, they were ready to destroy him completely. However, Ashley explained a few things.

Now, Atlas stood at her brewing stand, rapidly mixing ingredients. Rube switched between glances at her sister and the boy. "Are you sure you can make a potion of this calibre?"

"Of course. Hex isn't the only one who knows her way around a brewing stand. With this potion, Tony will still be under the hypnosis, but his allegiance will switch."

Cupa scratched her head. "So… he'll listen to us now?"

"Precisely. Now, when we ask a question, he'll be forced to tell us the truth." Everyone raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic sternness in Atlas' voice.

The librarian finished her brew and approached the boy. She bent back his head and opened his mouth, pouring the potion in. Atlas backed up and watched, her face in a neutral expression.

For a moment, nothing happened… then he blinked. The boy twitched a bit as his entire mindset did a complete reboot. After the process was complete, he returned to his dull, lifeless posture. Atlas nodded to Rube. The ruler cleared her throat and prepared her questions.

"Tony, did you speak to Hex without our knowing during our alliance?"

"Yes." Tony replied, robotically. Atlas even took a step back from him.

Rube continued. "Did you do so to inform her of our secrets?"

"No."

Rube felt mentally relieved. "Then why did you speak to her?"

"I was afraid of her, at first, but then I took the advice of Herobrine. Use Hex's feelings to get information."

Atlas glanced at H, who merely watched, emotionless.

Rube shared the glance, but put off _that_ discussion for a later date. "So, you decided to use her love?"

"I… I was a fool."

Everyone's eyes widened a bit. The boy's voice sounded as if it cracked a bit. Rube regained her composure. "You think yourself a fool for using love as a tool? Could it be that you have feelings for the witch?"

"..."

Atlas stepped forward. "Answer the question."

"..."

She clenched her fists. "Answer!"

"... I… I don't… know…" The boy's body twitched as he spoke, as if his mind was fighting off the robotic effects of the potion. As soon as the words left his mouth, however, he returned to his normal, hypnotized state.

Atlas didn't know how to feel about this new development, nor did the others.

Except Yaebi. "See! He's in cahoots with that blasted witch-" Slag and Mire threw him from the room before he could finish. Rube sighed. "Tony, when she kidnapped you, why didn't you try to escape?"

"I was afraid."

"Afraid? Of her?"

"Of you. I'm expendable, remember? Just a human. I knew you'd all kill me on sight. I had nowhere to go."

Haze and Ashley looked at eachother, then at Slag and Mire, who seemed sad. Rube decided to take her questions to a more tactical approach. "Tony, did Hex tell you anything that could be dangerous to us? A strategy or a plan?"

"Nothing… except…"

"Except what?"

"It was a girl. She looked like Skelli, but she was taller and had skulls floating around her. I think her name was… Weather? Wetter? Whittler?"

"The Wither!? Notch help us…"

Skelli stepped forward. "Impossible. The Wither is a mindless beast. As such it should not look like a ruler. Maybe Tony was just seeing something else?"

Rube visibly sweat. "I don't know, but we shouldn't underestimate Hex. If she has the Wither on her side, we may have to resort to our last chance."

Yaebi's eyes widened. "No! No no no! You can't possibly mean-"

Skelly grabbed the zombie by his collar. "Do you have any other bright ideas?"

Yaebi growled, but kept his mouth shut. Rube sighed and looked back at the boy and the librarian. "Atlas, please take Tony to his room. How much longer should the potion last?"

Atlas thought for a moment. "It was pretty advanced. He may not come to until morning."

"Very well. We shall call a meeting early tomorrow."

Everyone made their way out of the council room. On the way, Saber stopped Rube. "Hey, why didn't you just get hypno boy to go through with the plan now? He is under our control."

Rube raised an eyebrow. "Well, for one, that would be cruel. You sound like Hex! Also, this could be his chance to… prove himself."

Tony opened his eyes slowly. The light practically blinded him and he had a major headache. He closed his eyes again until a sudden thought hit him. '_Why is it so bright? The Nether is usually… dim…' _He tried remembering what happened before he blacked out.

The eyes. Tony quickly sat up and looked around for Hex, but, instead, found something much worse: he was in his room in the Village Castle. Tony felt his heart pounding and his breathing quicken. He sat on the bed with his back against the wall as he tried to piece together the situation.

'_I was laying down… I drank some… water! Except Hex must've given me a potion instead! But… how did I get here? Did Hex get raided? Either way, I'm dead.' _

Tony looked at the window, contemplating escape, when his door suddenly slammed open.

"Tony!" A voice called before he was tackled down, a gooey, green substance exploding on him. It quickly reformed, revealing Mire! She snuggled onto the boy while Slag stood at the doorway, smiling. Tony felt a bit calmer at their cheery greetings.

"Guys? How did I get here? _When _did I get here?"

Slag twiddled her thumbs. "Heh… well, you see…" The girls told their tale to Tony, who listened intently. When they finished, Tony felt both terror and extreme sorrow. The fact that Hex lost her "prize" and was most likely in an unpredictable, unstable condition at the moment scared him. The fact that Atlas actually gave up on him saddened him.

Slag and Mire looked at the boy, noticing his depression. "Hey now, you don't need to worry! You've still got us!"

"I guess that's true… at least until Rube has me executed."

Slag chuckled, nervously. "About that…"

After her explanation, Tony felt shocked and violated. "T-they used a hypnosis potion on me, too!?"

"Yes, but for good reason! They just wanted to hear the truth from you."

Tony calmed a bit. "I guess that makes sense, what with the Hex situation. But if I'm not going to be punished, why do they want me here?" Slag and Mire smiled at eachother before grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him away.

Tony felt a sense of dread as Slag and Mire led him to the council room. He kept his eyes to the ground as they entered, meeting the other rulers. The room had suddenly become quiet as Tony felt dozens of eyes fall on him. He gulped and made his way to the center, facing the Village rulers. Rube stood and cleared her throat.

"Tony, as you may now know, we reversed Hex's hypnosis on you to get honest answers, which we have. Trust, however, is another issue. You must earn that back."

Tony mentally winced at the weight of her words. He cast a quick glance up at the faces of his acquaintances. It only lasted a moment, but it was enough to see their disappointment.

Rube continued. "If you want to be back in our favor, you must partake in an especially dangerous mission. For the past few weeks, the mutant attacks have only grown in number. It won't be long until we are overwhelmed, which would be a shame after all of this preparation. Now, we only have one chance left at evening the odds for good…" Tony heard Yaebi grumble as Rube continued her proposition.

"We need you to rally the humans."


	25. Only Human

Tony held up his sword, parrying the weapons of his adversaries. He stepped back, trying to keep a defensive stance. Saber swung her sword low, while Skelli swung hugh. Tony held his sword up and jumped, dodging Saber, but taking the full force of Skelli, launching himself away. He fell on his back and, before he could get up, found himself on the business end of two swords.

Saber and Skelli sheathed their weapons and sighed. The latter helped Tony up. "It would seem your time with that harlot witch hasn't improved your swordplay."

Tony groaned at his soreness. It had been a full day since Rube sent him off to recruit the humans, having Saber and Skelli chaperone him. All the while, the two had sparred with him. Although, he noticed they were more aggressive in their attacks. '_Well, I guess I'd rather have them take their anger out on me through sparring than skewering.' _

Tony dusted himself off and sheathed his sword, earning a glare from Saber. "What do think you're doing? Your form was terrible! We are going to keep sparring!"

Tony sighed. "Can't we take a break? The sparring is slowing us down. At this rate, we'll be overrun by mutants long before we reach the human settlement."

Saber was about to retort, but Skelli held a hand up. "He's right. We can't reach the settlement if we don't speed up. We're still a day away." Skelli grumbled, but conceded.

The trio walked along in silence until Skelli spoke. "So, Tony, have you decided on which of our tactics you like best?"

"Huh? You guys are still fighting about that?"

"Of course. Which one did you choose?"

"Can't I pick both? Both of your tactics have benefits- eh!?" Tony blushed madly as Skelli hugged his arm.

"Tell me, Tony, you picked my tactic, right?" Skelli said, pushing herself onto the embarrassed boy.

Saber fumed. "You harlot! You're trying to seduce him in your favor!" She pushed Skelli away from the boy. "Let him choose on his own. Although, with his lack of real experience, I doubt he could ever truly pick."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I've been in a few battles on my own!"

"Oh really? How many of those did you participate in by yourself? And win?"

"Well… only a few, but-"

"But nothing. You aren't a seasoned warrior. You're only a human. How could ever truly survive here if you can't defend yourself?"

Tony looked down in defeat. He knew he wasn't the most capable among his allies, but this? Did they all feel this way? Skelli dusted herself off. "Ignore the blacksmith, Tony. Just because she can put some iron on a crafting table she fancies herself a warrior."

Saber felt her anger rise. "Why you!"

It was nightfall by the time they were able to see the lights of the human settlement. Skelli stopped. "We should camp here tonight. If we approach at night, they'll attack on sight."

As they laid down, Tony couldn't help but reflect on Saber's words. '_Do I really need to be a warrior to survive here? All of my victories have been due to dumb luck. Hm…' _He thought about the situation well into the night as he slipped into slumber.

The next morning, the group made their way toward the human settlement. However, halfway through, Skelli and Saber stopped. "Tony, you have to go in by yourself. Explain the situation to the ruler, then we'll go in. If we approach now, they'll kill us." Saber explained.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Wait, why would they harm a village ruler?"

"The humans have been separated from us for so long, they can no longer tell the difference between us and the mobs. I advise caution."

Tony nodded and made his way toward the settlement. As he got closer, he noticed just how huge the settlement was. It was surrounded on all sides by an extremely tall wall. In the center of the settlement, he saw a large, extravagant building.

As he neared, he heard a sudden whoosh of air as an arrow landed next to his feet. His head snapped up. The guard stood on top if the wall, rearing back another arrow.

"That's far enough. State your business, mob."

Tony held his arms up. "I-I'm not a mob. I am a human."

"Ha! This is new: a mob with a sense of humor."

"I'm not a mob! I came here to discuss the mutants!"

The guard looked to be deep in thought until another guard approached and whispered in his ear. Guard 1 nodded and sheathed his bow. "Alright, kid. Come in and we'll see if you're telling the truth."

Tony entered the gates, guards beginning to surround him on all sides. They all examined him in awe and Tony did the same. '_So these are cube humans…' _All of them were made of, well, cubes!

The guards examined the boy up and down until one of them spoke. "Amazing! He really is a human!"

"But he looks like… _them_!"

The guards decided to lead the boy toward the citadel in the center of the settlement, where their leader resided. As they walked, Tony noticed the entire settlement was one huge village. He also noticed something strange: while most of the humans looked relatively normal, many of them were… not. Tony could swear he saw a narwhal conversing with a purple dinosaur! '_I guess "human" has a different meaning here…' _He thought.

The group neared the citadel and Tony had to admit, it was amazing. It looked like it was built to defend against the strongest of creatures! As they entered, Tony couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the interior. Someone most likely spent ages building it! The guards escorted Tony all the way to a redstone elevator, where he entered with just two guards. The way up was nerve racking to the boy, who didn't know what to expect.

When they did finally make it, the room was bare except for a lone figure looking out of a large window. One of the guards stepped forward. "Milord, we have found something."

The figure stayed still before saying, "I know. Have him step forward." His voice sounded tired and wise. Tony stepped forward and the leader dismissed the guards before turning to face the boy. He was an older cube human, gray hair and facial hair. He wore a blue-ish shirt and blue pants. Unlike the guards, he had a warm smile.

"Oh my, you are interesting." He spoke, circling the boy. "You really are a human! Amazing! Do you have a name, son?"

"Ah… Tony, Your Majesty."

"Please, call me Steve."


	26. Girls' Day Off

Atlas sat in her room. She was deep in thought, staring at a wilted flower. Ever since Tony's send off, she stayed in her room, leaving only to eat. Slag and Mire visited often, but she barely spoke to them.

She just stared at the flower, refusing to water it.

Atlas knew why she felt this depression, or, at least, she _thought_ she did. At first, it was because of Tony's seeming betrayal of her trust. Now, however, it was different. Atlas was pulled from her thoughts by the familiar sloshing sounds of Slag and Mire squeezing through the door.

When they plopped through, Atlas sighed. "You know, you could try _opening _the door."

"You always have it locked." Slag said. Mire nodded in agreement. Atlas merely sighed at the girls before plopping down on her bed. Slag rubbed her hands together, ready to shoot lava at the girl, but Slag held a hand up.

"Atlas, you've been in this room for weeks! Stay in here any longer and you'll forget how to craft a simple sword!"

"..."

Slag sighed and flicked a cinder at Atlas. The girl jumped out of the way, only for Mire to suddenly wrap herself around her. "Ah! W-what are you do-"

"Sorry, Atlas. This is for your own good!" Mire trapped Atlas' entire lower body in her abdomen, leaving out only her head. Slag snickered at the sight.

The girls made their way out of the room, Atlas struggling to get free. She eventually tired herself out and resorted to yelling. "Someone help! I'm being kidnapped!"

Rube suddenly rounded the corner with Terra. Both of them seemed extremely calm. Atlas looked relieved. "Thank Notch! Can you two convince these lunatics to let me go?"

Rube smiled as if all was normal. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Are you blind! I'm trapped in a slime's belly!"

Terra snickered. "Relax, sis. You're in good hands. Slag and Mire told us about giving you a day off from all this mutant business. They're taking you out."

"Out? B-but-" Before Atlas could complain, Slag and Mire sped out of the castle. Rube and Terra giggled at the sight.

It wasn't long before Atlas exhausted herself from the constant struggle to get free, so Mire allowed her to walk. The librarian stayed between the girls, her expression more akin to that of a prisoner than a willing participant.

Slag rolled her eyes. "Lighten up, will you? We're going to take you someplace amazing."

"Yeah! It's probably one of the most beautiful spots I've seen in my life!" Mire cheered. Atlas kept quiet, but was suddenly curious. A secret spot? No mutants? Too good to be true.

However, that thought was demolished as Mire led them through a clearing. Atlas gasped at the sight of the large lake and the waterfall. Flowerbeds were sprawled throughout the area and animals grazed. Slag and Mire giggled at Atlas' awestruck gaze before leading her toward the paradise.

"Wanna go for a swim?" Mire asked.

Atlas raised an eyebrow. "You can swim?"

"Of course not! But I can sit on the edge and let the water touch my toes!"

Slag waved them off as she walked to a nearby lava pit. "You two have fun. You know where to find me." She called, easing herself down into the shallow end of the lava pit. She let loose a relaxed sigh.

Atlas soon found herself floating on her back, watching the sky. She smiled for the first time in weeks. '_I guess I have to admit… this is a great distraction…' _

Mire noticed the librarian's newfound peace and smiled. While it was unnatural for villagers and mobs to be friends, it didn't feel so unusual. In fact, Mire and Slag viewed Atlas as their strongest ally yet.

Atlas swam toward shore and sat next to Mire. "Hey… thanks. I'm glad you guys brought me here. How did you find this place?"

"Well, we came across it by accident when we were searching for-" Mire bit her tongue, but Atlas knew what she was going to say. They sat in silence for good while. That is, until Slag finally approached. "Get up, you sad sacks! I have a great idea!"

Atlas screamed in terror as she flew higher and higher before plummeting back down. Her body met with a colossal slime before bouncing back up. Slag and Mire were on two other big slimes, bouncing and screaming with joy.

"I've gotta say, this was a great idea!" Mire congratulated.

Slag smirked. "I know! I'm a genius! How are you doing over there, Atlas?"

The librarian screamed in reply, prompting the slime girls to giggle. Atlas tried to hold her dress down as she jumped, her face glowing red.

It wasn't long before the girls began their trek back home. They couldn't help but laugh at the day's events. "Oh Notch! Then you were all like 'Oh no! Please don't look up my dress!'" Slag laughed. Mire wiped a tear away. "Yeah, but remember when you tried to do a triple flip off the slime and splattered!?"

Slag and Mire laughed, but Atlas just watched them. They noticed her silence and stopped. "Atlas? What's wrong?" Mire asked. The librarian just shrugged. Steam suddenly rose from Slag's head as she stomped towards Atlas.

"Argh! That's it! I'm done being patient!"

Mire raised a hand. "Slag-"

"No! Atlas, listen to me! Tony did what he did, and there is nothing we can change about that! All that matters is that he's back and safe from that wretched witch!" Slag barked.

Atlas stayed silent for a moment and stared at Slag. The moment seemed to last a while… until tears formed in the librarian's eyes. Atlas fell to her knees, crying.

"You don't understand! It's not about that! Yes… I admit I haven't fully forgiven him for his betrayal, but I'm having an even harder time… forgiving myself."

Slag and Mire were taken back by the sudden outburst. The former quickly regained her composure before kneeling next to Atlas. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when we all found out about what happened between Hex and Tony, I… gave up. I even hit him! I lost all hope… but you two, you never gave up on him. You kept looking for him. You even found him and cleared this whole mess up! But me…"

Mire approached and place a hand on Atlas' shoulder. "Hey, don't talk like that. I'm sure you had at least a little hope that he'd come back, right? Besides, it's not like you completely betrayed him. In fact, he seemed ashamed of himself!"

"But-"

Slag glared at her. "But nothing! You are going to stop blaming yourself for your feelings! What happened is over. You need to get past this if you want to keep Tony."

Atlas felt a blush rise to her face, but suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Wait, but don't you two want-"

"A bit of healthy competition never hurt anybody." Slag smirked.

The walk back to the Village Castle was uneventful. Upon arrival, the girls bid each other goodnight before retiring to their bedrooms. Atlas entered hers and laid in bed.

But not before watering her wilted flower.

Hex sat in the dark for a long time, contemplating her contingency plan. It was supposed to be her last resort, but it was highly dangerous. Just risking it would be insane.

But nothing was too risky for her love.

Hex quickly stood and gathered her strongest ingredients before making her way to a brewing stand. There, she mixed the ingredients together, her eyes focusing intently on the task at hand. It wasn't long before she held up the result: a perfect Chemical X. Hex quickly reared her head back and downed the toxin. All the while, she thought of her love...


	27. Warrior's Way

Tony shook hands with the elder king in front of him. It was strange, Tony pictured a king to look a tad different: fancy robes, abundant jewelry, a golden throne.

This man had only a modest crown and casual clothes. His throne room looked more like a mayor's office than a king's domain.

Steve went to his throne and sat. He gestured Tony toward another chair. After they were settled, Steve put his hands on the table. "So tell me, son, where exactly are you from?"

Tony shifted uncomfortably. "You probably won't believe me."

"My boy, I have been around longer than most. I've seen things in my time that would cause the average warrior to scream in fear. Try me."

"Well, Your Highness- er, _Steve_, I'm not from this world…" Tony began to explain his origins to the ruler, who listened intently. After all was said and done, Steve smiled.

"Well, that does sound unbelievable, but I believe you. It makes sense."

"It does?"

"Of course! How else could someone like you grow up in this world unnoticed? You're the spitting image of a ruler! Hm… a human ruler!" Steve laughed.

Tony began twiddling his thumbs. "Steve, sir, there's a reason I came here."

"Hm?"

"You know what's been going on? With the mutants?"

Steve frowned as he stood and looked out his colossal window. "I know all too well. Those monsters are worse than anything I've ever seen. A few weeks ago, a mutant creeper nearly demolished our eastern wall. What do you know about them? Is this the work of those damn mob rulers?"

"Not… exactly…"

Tony began to explain the situation from the beginning. Steve listened, his body language becoming more and more serious. "Unbelievable. The mob rulers and the village rulers… cooperating? Never thought I'd see the day…"

"Indeed, sir. I came here with some of the rulers. We were hoping to seek an audience. I left them waiting at the hill just beyond the wall."

"Then there is no time to waste." Steve pressed a button on his wall. A guard suddenly came up the elevator. "Your Majesty?"

"Gather a small battalion of guards. There are several rulers outside the gate that I need to see."

"Uh… yes, sir." The guard said, obviously unnerved by the thought of being near a mob ruler.

While the guards left to retrieve the guests, Steve took Tony on a tour. The boy looked about in amazement. "So, what is this place? I've never seen a kingdom like this before."

"I'd be pleasantly surprised if you did. This is the last human settlement in the world."

"The _last_? Y-you mean all the world's cube humans live here? Aren't there any adventurers? You know, people who can start new kingdoms?"

Steve chuckled. "Son, you are thinking of a time long ago. Sure, back in my day there were plenty of heroes and such. These days, adventuring is a thing of the past. Besides, why leave when all of the things you need are here? The new generations find better pastimes playing games."

"So… no heroes? Adventurers?"

"Well… not all of them are gone. Some of the kingdom's council are young, but they are still the most rambunctious group I have ever seen."

The two were interrupted by a sudden coughing. They turned to see Saber and Skelli frowning, surrounded by guards. Steve approached them. He kissed Saber's hand. "Hello, Saber. It's been a while."

The blacksmith nodded. "It has been. Years, in fact."

Steve then turned to Skelli. "Hello. I never have been too acquainted with you mob rulers. Well, not since you were really young. You probably don't even remember me. I'm King Steve." Tony noticed the formality in his voice. Not friendly, but not overly cruel.

Professional.

Steve eventually led the group back to the throne room in the citadel. Saber and Skelli took over negotiations from there while Tony sat and watched.

"... that's why we need to have the humans join us. This problem is bigger than any of us." Saber explained. Steve listened, but kept glancing back at Tony, who seemed distracted. He suddenly had an idea.

"Alright. I can give you your treaty. However, the only way for humans to join you is if you do the one thing we love the most."

"And what, might I ask, is that?" Skelli said, coldly. The elder king surprised them by jumping on his desk. "Having fun! If you can win just one of our games, we'll join you."

Saber grinned. "Sounds easy enough. We are, after all, warriors."

Steve smirked. "Not so fast. You two can't participate."

"What!?"

"The whole point of human games is that _humans _play. All you rulers have unfair advantages with powers." Steve hopped from his desk and approached Tony. "So, son, are you ready?"

Tony blinked a few times before he nodded and stood. "Uh… yes! What game are we playing?"

Tony suddenly felt his nerves get to him as he looked at the other participants, who kept their eyes on him, hungrily. In the center of it all, an extremely tall tower stood. On top there was a large room made of glass looking down at the contestants. Inside were Saber, Skelli, Steve, and his council. Tony cast a quick glance up at them. The council looked a bit strange to him. Some were normal looking, like the human with the pendant and the sunglasses or the human who wore a red jacket. Others, however, seemed more bizarre. Tony swore he saw a wooly man in a suit talking to that narwhal from earlier!

Saber glared down at him before turning to Steve. "You idiot! He can't survive this! He isn't a warrior!"

Skelli put a hand to her chin. "I hate to say it, but the blacksmith is right. Tony isn't as combat-inclined as the average human."

Steve grinned. "So you don't have faith in him?"

Saber and Skelli looked at each other, but kept their mouths shut.

Tony ignored the stares he got from the other contestants. He stood on his platform and waited for the hologram timer above him to signal the game starting.

3…

He looked over and saw some of the people nodding to each other. Truces.

2…

He looked around for any particular strong-looking people to watch out for. Fortunately, there were only a few.

1…

He knew he was being targeted by some of these people. It was fight or flight.

GO!

Tony chose flight.

As the other contestants began to fight each other for the precious chests in the center, Tony ran from the battle. Saber gritted her teeth. "What in Notch's name is he doing? He's acting like a coward!"

Steve said nothing as he watched with a smile.

Tony ran into the forest and hid behind a tree. As he sat, he watched a hologram rise in the sky, showcasing the fallen tributes. Tony shuddered at the amount, but knew it didn't matter. They could respawn. He quickly did a mental overview of the rules Steve told him…

_Steve hopped from his desk and approached Tony. "So, son, are you ready?" _

_Tony blinked a few times before he nodded and stood. "Uh… yes! What game are we playing?" _

"_If there is one game we play that really shows guts, it's the Survival Games. It's a free-for-all fight to the finish! The winner gets bragging rights and some gold. The losers respawn in the the watchtower at the center and watch the rest of the games play out." _

_Saber smirked. "That sounds like my kind of game!" _

_Steve ignored her. "So, what do you say?" _

_Tony looked down. "King Steve, I've never fought another human before. What's more, I come from a world with different rules. I won't respawn when I die." _

_Saber and Skelli chuckled. The latter stood next to him. "Tony isn't ready for something like this. His training is lacking and his swordplay is limited." _

_Tony felt a bit offended. He'd been training non stop for quite some time. Steve sighed. "Oh well. Then I guess it can't be helped…" _

"_Wait." Tony said. "If I do this, you'll join the alliance with the mobs and villagers?" _

"_Only if you win. Deal?" _

"_..." _

Tony stayed in his spot until the sounds of footsteps were gone. He was going to have to be careful. This would be a test of everything he'd learned from Skelli and Saber.

He remembered Steve telling him that various chests would be hidden throughout the battlefield, containing valuable assets to his survival. Tony mentally cursed himself for not going for one of the chests in the center, but he knew the risk. If he stayed, the other contestants would have targeted him based on his unusual appearance.

'_I guess I'm on my own. I should try to get as far away from the others as possible… until I have a plan.' _

The fallen contestants, the council, Skelli, Saber, and Steve watched the event in the watchtower. Everyone's attention turned to the new human in the battlefield. Saber looked disgusted with his tactic. "Ugh! Why isn't he fighting! We wasted all that time training him for this? Unbelievable. This is your fault, Bonehead! You taught him to be a coward!"

Skelli looked offended. "Me? I only taught him to wait for an opening! I never told him to run from battle!"

The denizens of the watchtower observed their arguing. The cube human with sunglasses and a pendant leaned toward another human next to him with a white t-shirt and hair covering one his eyes. "Dude, are these the rulers? I've never actually met any before."

"I don't know, but they seem to catfight a lot."

"... awesome!" The duo snickered at the rulers' bickering.

Tony walked through the forest, only seeing the occasional animal. He contemplated killing them for food, but ultimately decided not to. '_The noise would draw attention.' _As he looked around for any signs of life, he suddenly tripped, falling on his face. Tony groaned and looked for what caused him to fall.

Then he beamed.

It was a chest buried in the ground. Tony quickly crawled to it and opened it. The contents weren't too impressive: A couple apples, a stick, and a single wooden block. While it wasn't much, it was something. Tony quickly took the contents and quickly went on his way.

It wasn't long until Tony found a structure. At the edge of the battlefield, there was a cottage. Tony quickly checked around, in case of any enemies. He hadn't seen anyone since the beginning of the match. It was unnerving.

Tony entered the cottage and looked around, finding a chest in the corner. Opening it, he grinned. Inside was a single stone sword and some bread. '_Okay. Now I'm ready.' _

Tony walked out of the cottage and looked around. He was getting nervous, then he heard the footsteps. He looked and narrowly dodged the arrow that whizzed past him. A cube human had appeared. It looked relatively normal, but this one held a bow and arrow. Tony dodged another one before running back into the woods, the archer in tow.

Tony used the random paths of the trees to avoid the archer's arrows. As he ran, he looked up and noticed some of the trees had openings in the leaves. He formulated a plan.

The archer looked around. He mentally cursed himself for losing the boy as he aimed at every tree. He suddenly heard a hard tap, like someone stepping on wood. The archer carefully inched toward the noise. He rounded the tree and found… nothing but a lone wood block. The archer was confused until he heard a rustling above him. Tony landed on top of the archer, sword first. The archer was disoriented, so Tony took the opportunity to throw a series of slashes at his torso, killing him.

Tony did a mental sigh of relief as he watched the archer despawn and drop loot. '_I'm glad I grabbed that wooden block. If I hadn't been able to get on top of the trees, I'd be a pincushion!' _

Tony approached the loot, taking the 10 arrows, the bow, more food, and a leather chestplate. He tried putting it on, but the blocky build didn't feel too comfortable or convenient, so he just dropped it.

Tony's body tensed up as he heard footsteps cautiously approaching. He turned to see another cube human, sword outstretched. This one was different from the archer; his whole body shook in fear. Tony held his sword, but kept it low. The boy looked young, a few years younger than Tony. '_He couldn't have been asked to be here. He probably just wants to prove himself.' _

Tony slowly moved his sword. The boy jumped a bit before composing himself and eyeing the weapon. Tony slowly put his sword away and stepped back. He looked at the boy before walking away.

In the watchtower, Steve smiled at Tony's actions. Skelli and Saber, however, felt disappointed. "He should have ended that foolish boy! Does he know what's at stake? That boy could come back with better armor and weapons!" Saber barked.

Suddenly, a hologram appeared in the sky. It was a picture of the lone boy. Someone else had claimed his life. As the boy respawned in the tower, Steve laughed heartily. "I wouldn't worry about that!"

Tony decided patience was key. He picked up enough food to last him a little while, so he decided to find a cave to sit back and watched the holograms fly in the sky. They were starting to slow down as the contestants fought one another. Suddenly, a timer shown in the sky, counting down from a minute. Tony remembered Steve telling him about this. '_The deathmatch is going to begin soon. All the remaining humans in the arena will be teleported back to the center. I… I have to be ready.' _

Tony watched the countdown, visibly sweating. He felt his heart thump with every passing second, clutching his sword tighter. The seconds ticked until only ten remained. It was only a matter of time.

Soon enough, Tony found himself in new surroundings. He was back at the center. The only difference, however, was the absence of all other players.

Except one.

On the podium across from him, a lone human stood. He was clad in a diamond chestplate and a iron boots and leggings. He gripped an iron sword at his side and a look of determination. Tony immediately regretted leaving behind that leather chestplate, as if it would do him any good.

Skelli and Saber watched intently. "That human. His armor. His sword. Tony is outclassed. We may as well kiss our reinforcements goodbye." Skelli said.

Steve rubbed his beard. "It's still anyone's game. It's very unusual for anyone to have such little faith in their champion."

"Champion? I wouldn't go that far-"

"He's fighting on your behalf, isn't he? Yet you say he isn't your champion?"

Skelli and Saber looked at each other before glancing down at Tony, whose face showed sheer concentration.

Tony looked at the true warrior in front of him. This was the spitting image of Saber and Skelli's ideal hero. An armored swordsman, assumingly versed in all areas of combat.

And Tony was his target.

The warrior held his sword high. Tony felt unnerved as the warrior, then, stepped off of his podium and towards him. Tony did the same, both of them meeting in the middle. They circled each other, swords raised. The warrior grinned. "I hear you train with some powerful people. You must be thankful."

"Yes, I am. Though, I still have much to learn."

"Then let's have an honorable fight. No holding back!" Then it began.

The warrior swung his sword, but Tony raised his as well, blocking him. They both pushed against each other, fighting for dominance. The warrior raised his knee into the boy's stomach, causing him to bend forward in pain. The warrior kicked Tony back, knocking the sword from his hand in the process.

Tony laid flat on his back, a bit dazed. The warrior picked up his sword and threw it next to him. Tony slowly stood and grabbed it, looking at the warrior in confusion. He saw Tony's questioning glance and smirked. "I know you can do better than that. Show me the results of your training or I _will _kill you!"

Tony wiped his mouth and reentered his battle stance. The warrior really did have honor. Tony knew he couldn't hold back. Too much was at stake. He held his sword steady as Saber and Skelli's teachings floated through his mind.

As the battle ensued, Steve smiled from the watchtower. Skelli noticed and frowned. "And what, Your Highness, is so funny?"

"Tony's changed. Look for yourself."

The girls looked at the boy fighting the warrior and saw that Steve was right: Tony's body language changed drastically. It flowed more smoothly as if the sword had become a true part of him.

And his eyes. They were more serious. Almost as if he had truly become a warrior.

The warrior and Tony were visibly sweating now as the battle became intense. Tony deflected the attacks against him, sustaining only minor cuts from stray slashes. The warrior decided to change tactics. He quickly spun around and swung his sword around the other side of Tony. The latter followed his movements and jumped out of the way, leaving a short opening to get a few hits in against the warrior's armor.

Tony figured it was the right time to take a page from Saber's book. He took the offense and charged the disoriented warrior, landing a few more shots. The warrior found himself panicking a bit as he desperately tried to regain balance while blocked the boy's blows.

Tony used the warrior's confusion to his advantage, successfully sweeping him off his feet. The warrior grunted as he fell back, but tried to get up. However, Tony held his sword to his throat. The warrior smirked. "Impressive. I guess that's that." He laid down and accepted defeat as Tony threw one last slash.

Tony was surprised by a sudden explosion in the air followed by a series of colored lights. Fireworks. '_I… I did it? I did it! I actually did it!' _Tony fell back and took a deep breath of relief.

The watchtower doors opened, revealing King Steve followed by the Council, the contestants, and Saber and Skelli. Steve approached Tony, offering a hand to help him up. Tony looked at Saber and Skelli, expecting a normal congratulations.

Instead, he got scolded.

"Your form was all wrong!"

"You sliced too early!"

"You didn't dodge fast enough!"

"Did you even sharpen your sword?"

Steve cleared his throat, halting the rulers' scolding. Tony felt grateful. Steve smiled. "Tony, before I keep up my end of our deal, I'm going to tell you something. From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were special. Your actions today prove that."

Saber and Skelli now listened to the King's words. He continued. "Your quick-thinking and strategizing gave you an escape from the archer. Your empathy and compassion were shown when you showed that scared boy mercy. Last, but certainly not least, you showed your strength in a hard battle." Steve place a hand on Tony's shoulder. "These traits, these defining attributes, are what truly make you a warrior and, above all else, human."

Tony smiled. "So… does that mean…"

"Yes. You've earned your reinforcements."


	28. Ambush

Tony led the way back toward the village castle, Skelli and Saber in tow. They had been traveling for about a day, mostly remaining silent. Tony had been feeling cheerful ever since King Steve's kind words. Saber and Skelli seemed to be thinking on them, as the only words they spoke to him were brief congratulations.

Suddenly, the silence was broken. "Hey." Tony looked back to see the girls had strange looks on their faces. Looks of annoyance? Humiliation? Tony honestly couldn't tell. Saber sighed. "Tony… we… er… I…"

Skelli sighed as well. "Human- er, _Tony_\- we are… sorry for what we said before. Perhaps being a warrior is about more than one's abilities."

Tony was surprised. "Uh, wow. Thank you! I didn't really expect that."

"Well, don't expect anything more! This is hard enough." Saber said, flushed with the embarrassment of admitting she was wrong.

Tony smiled, but looked down. "You know, I should be thanking you guys." Saber and Skelli looked a bit surprised, but let the boy continue. "Your training gave me the ability to win. If it wasn't for you guys, we might not be getting reinforcements."

Saber smiled. "Well, at least we know your victory isn't going to your head. Don't think this means training is over!"

The group continued walking, but Skelli and Saber lagged behind. Saber noticed the skeleton girl's weird glances at the human. Saber snapped her fingers. "What are you doing?"

"Just observing. Look at the way he walks now. Confident. This experience really helped him. I think I'm starting to see what those slime girls see in him." Skelli said, biting her lip. Saber pointed a finger at her mouth and gagged.

Suddenly, Tony froze at the top of a hill. Saber and Skelli noticed and ran next to him. "What are you do-" Saber stopped as her blood froze. The colossal village castle was in shambles. Whole chunks were missing from many sides. Craters were dotted along the area and trees were on fire. The group began sprinting into the chaos.

Tony ran up to the debris, panicking. He looked around, trying to find any sign of the mob rulers or village rulers. As he ran, his heart pounded. He knew the rulers could respawn when killed, but if Hex captured them, it would be far worse. The mere thought of the torture Hex would subject them to made Tony's blood boil.

Saber ran around the debris, clinging to a single hope at the end of a long, broken corridor. As she approached, she was semi-relieved to see an undamaged trap door. "Tony! Skelli! Help me!" She cried as she clawed at the tight opening. Her comrades came and, together, they lifted it. The sight before them shocked them and relieved them. The rulers were all in the small room, all having minor injuries. The warrior rulers seemed to have the worst of it, clinging to consciousness.

The rulers looked at the trio in fear, then relaxed. Rube quickly climbed from the safe room. She latched onto Saber as if her life depended on it. "I'm so glad you're back! Are you hurt?"

"Am _I _hurt? What happened here!? What happened to everyone!?"

Rube frowned. "Hex happened. Her and those damned mutants. They surrounded us and beat on our doors. We fought a few off, but they wouldn't let up. We had to retreat to the safe room."

Skelli sighed. "That coward. Why not face us in real combat? I'd slice her in two given the opportunity."

Skelly shook her head. "You may get that opportunity. One of her mutants dropped this note."

Skelli grabbed the note, reading with Tony and Saber over her shoulders.

_It's time to finish this. _

_I am waging war on all of my sisters. All of the rulers. _

_All of Minecraftia. _

_Meet me at the Northern Mountain in two days. Use your time wisely. Prepare. I know I will. _

_My love… I'm sorry… _

_-H _

Tony kept his eyes over the last sentence. He felt a twinge of something in his chest, but didn't know what. Saber nodded. "So the time is finally here. This must've been just a taste of what she's capable of."

Rube nodded. "Please tell me you parlayed with the humans."

"Yes. They promised their reinforcements… thanks to Tony." Skelli said. Tony quickly blushed, but looked away. He knew the rulers were still agitated by his actions.

Rube smiled a bit, but returned to the task at hand. "We must rally the humans as soon as we can. The fastest of us should go the human settlement."

"I'm on it. I'll gather my horse and talk to the king." Saber said.

Rube looked at Skelly and Skelli. "I need you two to make sure everyone is well-equipped for this war. Armor, weapons, etc. We need inventory!" The duo nodded and got to work.

"Everyone else, try to rebuild your rooms and get some rest. It's been a long day."

Tony laid down in his bed. He remade his room, but smaller. He didn't care too much for the size so long as he had a place to rest. He felt nervous, and with good reason. After Rube finished instructing everyone earlier, he decided to ask the one thing that had been weighing on his mind…

"_Rube, how would a war ever end if both sides just keep respawning?" _

"_It's hard to explain Tony. This is no normal war. Hex's monsters are literally tearing the world apart. With power like that, there's a slight chance that whoever they kill _won't _respawn." _

As he let her haunting words hang, he heard the door open. Unsurprisingly, it was Slag and Mire. "Hey." The latter said.

Tony quickly sat up. "Hi! I'm going to be honest, I'm extremely glad you're okay."

"You kidding? Us slimes can take the hardest of hits!" Slag said, smirking. Tony smiled, but suddenly noticed Slag holding a bottle.

"What's that?"

"Hm? Oh, this is just a little gift we had Atlas fix up. Go on, try it!"

Tony took the bottle and drank it. When he didn't feel any different, he eyes the slime girls curiously, but his eyes widened as they both tackled him on his bed. The boy expected to feel Slag's molten skin scorch him, but instead found himself unharmed. The lava girl grinned. "I'm glad that fire resistance potion worked!"

"Fire resistance?"

"Yep! It's so strong you could actually swim in lava!"

Tony mentally questioned why he would ever need to do that, but soon found his mind wander to the two rulers lying on either side of him. His face became bright red. Slag noticed and giggled. "We're going to be sleeping in here tonight, Tony. We kinda got lazy with building our room."

Tony was about to object, but then his mind flashed to Rube's warning. He sat still for a moment before sliding his arms around the slime girls. Now, it was their turn to blush. They looked at the boy, who smiled kindly. "I'm… I'm just glad you two are okay."

Slag and Mire smiled before snuggling up to the boy, getting ready for the trials ahead of them...


	29. Trust Me

Tony sat in a clearing in the forest, looking through his inventory. He had left early in the morning to gather resources. He had been chopping wood for hours, replanting every tree he chopped and then some. Eventually, he made his way into the mines. He left his sword back at the camp to make more room for resources. Besides, he wouldn't be needing it. The rulers had called upon all of their mobs to prepare for the coming battle. Even Yaebi called back his zombies to aid the fight.

Tony spent quite a bit of time in the mine, grabbing all of the iron and coal he could get. He would have gone for other ores, but gold was too weak and diamond was too scarce. Besides, he loved his iron sword. When his inventory became full, Tony decided to head towards the Village Castle. Ever since the attack and Hex's note, The atmosphere had been tense. Coupled with the rulers' uneasy trust in him, it was difficult to approach anyone with a plan. He, more often than not, avoided eye contact altogether.

As Tony approached the ruins, he took a moment to take in the amount of destruction Hex caused with her army. The colossal village castle was brought to its knees by a fraction of the mutant army. After everyone rebuilt their rooms, it now looked like a shanty village. Tony walked a bit faster as he shuddered at the thought of what Hex's _entire _army could do. As Tony walked through the village, he noticed something strange. '_Where is everyone? Shouldn't they be preparing?' _

He walked on until he heard voices. Tony approached one of the rebuilt rooms and peeked around the corner. The rulers were all sitting around a netherrack bonfire, laughing and eating. Tony smiled a bit and was about to join, but stopped when he heard them talk.

"Shouldn't we be preparing for the battle?" Yaebi barked.

Rube smiled. "We have all of tomorrow to prepare. We should spend this day together."

Skelli smirked. "You make it sound like we won't see each other again. We have the freakin' Enderdragon on our side!"

"Don't underestimate our enemies. You all know as well as I do that we may not return from this fight. We only have one chance to end this. That is more than enough reason to spend this time together."

Everyone stayed silent for a moment. Rube giggled. "Let's not dwell on such morbid things. We should all be here together. Speaking of which, where is Tony?"

"He went out to gather resources in preparation. I hate to admit it, but that human has a lot of sense." Yaebi said, grudgingly. "How can you guys be so quick to trust him again?"

Skelli smirked. "You kidding? Saber and I saw him work for our reinforcements! He's definitely earned my trust!"

Rube smiled, but felt a bit uneasy. Suddenly, H appeared next to her and said, "You don't trust him."

Rube jumped a bit at her sudden appearance, but regained her composure. "W-what do you mean? Of course I trust him! He returned with reinforcements and-"

"You don't trust him completely. In fact, other than those dense slimeballs, none of you completely trust him. I can sense it in your hearts." H said, monotonously.

Tony had heard enough. He stood in his spot, not daring to make a noise before quietly walking to his own room.

Skelli scoffed. "H, you've said a lot of crazy things in your time, but this one takes the cake! I stand by what I said. I trust Tony!"

H stared at her. "Your heart. I can see it's opening up. Perhaps you are beginning to trust the boy. Maybe something more…" Skelli blushed. H continued. "That doesn't change the rest of you. I can sense doubt in you. Doubt that he is competent enough to keep his word."

"... and w-what do you think, H?" Rube said, shakily.

"It matters not what I think. It is what I know as fact. I have read the boy's heart. He never meant to betray anyone. He was as much an ally as any of us could be. Now, his heart shows nothing but loneliness. In fact, I'm surprised he's still fighting for you."

Atlas looked at the godlike ruler in shock. "Why didn't you tell us any of this before!?"

"I told you. This battle is none of my concern. I couldn't care less if either side wins. However, I realize you have worked hard up to this point. Even someone like myself has to commend that. I'm telling you this because the time for war is near. You can't afford to make any mistakes… especially with your allies." With that, H disappeared, leaving nothing but her words behind to hang over the silence.

The group was silent for a moment. Atlas suddenly stood. "We should find Tony."

"Indeed, he's probably back by now." Rube said quietly.

The group made their way to Tony's room, trying to figure out what they would say when they arrived. Unfortunately, they wouldn't get the chance. Slag and Mire ran ahead when they saw Tony's door was wide open. They expected to see the boy in the room, but instead found nothing but a note on the bed. Slag picked it up and skimmed it. "... oh no…"

The rest of the group arrived and looked at the note:

_I know I've made a few… _a lot _of mistakes lately, but I will make this right. I will be back in time for the battle. Don't worry. _

_Tony _

"'I will make you proud'? What does he mean? Do you think he heard our conversation?" Rube said.

"Apparently. I take back what I said about sense. Now is not a good time for him to buzz off." Yaebi said.

Mire gulped. "Well, what do we do?"

"... nothing. Tony is trying to earn our trust again. He will come back. He will…" Rube said, not sounding as confident as she usually was.

Atlas looked at the note, wondering what the boy would do. Wondering what _she_ would do...


	30. Rally the Troops

Atlas sat in Tony's room, holding his sword. She had been watching over it ever since Tony left two days ago. It was the dawn of the day of reckoning. Yesterday the entire group rallied themselves. It would not be long before Saber returned with the humans. Atlas sighed. "It's finally happening. It seems so surreal, but It's actually happening." Atlas said, placing Tony's sword on his bed before leaving.

Rube stood on the roof of her room, looking out at the sunrise. It was only natural, as this may be her last one. Her gaze shifted north, toward the colossal mountain range. The setting of what would be the world's greatest battle and, depending on the outcome, the world's last battle. Her mind shifted to the thought of Tony. Where had he gone on such short notice? He had been gone all yesterday, seemingly on a mission for their loyalty. Rube sighed. She partially blamed herself. Yes, the boy made a mistake, but at a time like this, it was apparent that friends were of the utmost importance. '_He should not have been pushed away. He proved his loyalty already, but apparently he feels it wasn't enough. Tony… where are you?' _

The sun rose higher in the sky. It was only a matter of time. All of the rulers gathered at the center of the ruins. Rube stood in front of the group with Skelly. "Alright", the latter spoke, "We are going to head to the Northern Mountains. There is no doubt that Hex will be there with her army. In her state of mind, she is unpredictable. We don't know if she's going to follow the rules of war, so we need a team to stay behind the main group in case of an ambush."

Misery raised her hand. "What about Tony? Do we wait for him?"

"No. He seems to be on a mission of his own. We must trust that he's coming back."

Skelli scoffed. "Of course he's coming back! He's a warrior!"

"I'm glad you finally agree." A new voice said. Everyone turned in shock to see Saber and King Steve standing in front of the entire human army. Steve approached Rube. "Well, the boy wasn't kidding! Mobs and villagers truly are working together. This must be some war."

"Your Majesty, it has been a while." Rube said, bowing.

"Yes, but I'm afraid I can't stay to visit too long. I'm just escorting my army here."

"You aren't fighting?"

"Ah, my dear you overestimate an old timer like me. My days of battle are way behind. These old bones probably couldn't even swing a pickaxe! No, my army is at your command."

Rube smiled before approaching the humans. "Friends, hear me. This battle will be like none before. We not only have the lives of Minecraftia at stake, but the existence of the very world itself. I will not lie: Hex's army outmatches us, but we do have a secret weapon. Andr, if you will."

The endergirl nodded and placed several blocks. After, she placed eyes on them. As soon as the last eye was placed, the End Portal was activated. Andr closed her eyes, as if concentrating, before backing away from the portal. Suddenly, a hand rose from it, then another, followed by a tall woman! The Enderdragon rose, grinning a sharp, toothy grin. She looked around at the crowd. "Man, it has been a while since I've gotten out here. Hmm, about 1,000 years give or take a century?"

Andr approached her mother. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. That witch is going to be my supper for what she's done to my endermen."

One of the humans, a warrior with a unibrow and a green shirt under his armor whispered to his comrades. "Well, she seems confident."

Rube led the group toward the Northern Mountain while Skelly followed with the second group. Rube looked at Yaebi. "Have you assembled all of your zombies?"

"Yeah, they should be waiting at the mountain, as with the rest of the mobs. I don't think it's a good idea to bring them to the very person who transformed so many already!"

"It would be better if they were there. We need all the firepower we can get. The mobs have that power."

"If firepower is the case, why aren't we risking any of your subjects? I don't see any villagers coming to our aid."

"Villagers can be capable warriors, but they are a peaceful people. They won't fight in a war like this. Besides, I believe you have some of my subjects under your control anyway."

"Hey, it's not my fault my zombies have a taste for village cuisine!"

The Northern Mountain was finally in front of them. The army climbed the colossal landform with relative ease. Rube was the first to get to the top, but was met with a surprise. "H?"

The mysterious girl didn't look her way, instead staring at the "bowl" in the center of the mountain. Rube approached her. "What are you doing here- oh my…" She said as she looked down into the bowl. The battlefield was set. Hex's army stood completely still. Thousands of monstrous mutants of all types were standing ready. Skeletons, zombies, endermen, etc. All were in position. All… except one. "Where's Hex?" Rube asked.

"I don't care for the witch. I'm only here to observe for my master." H said.

"Herobrine sent you here to observe? Why?"

"You don't need to know. Besides, you have more urgent issues to attend to."

Rube wanted to argue, but realized H was right. She quickly rushed her army down into the bowl, preparing to face the mutants. Curiously enough, when they did arrive, the mutants did not react. They merely snarled or ignored them altogether. Atlas approached Rube. "W-why are they so… inactive? Where is Hex?"

"Are you looking for me?" A new voice spoke. Everyone looked around frantically until one of the humans pointed up. "There!"

Everyone gasped as Hex floated down. She noticed her sisters' horrified looks and grinned. "My dear sisters, don't you recognize me?" Hex cackled as she floated a few inches above the ground. Her face was twisted into a maniacal smile and her hair was messy and feral. Her clothes looked tattered and worn. Her eyes glowed bright violet and her entire body was surrounded in an aura of similar color. Strangest of all, her aura had several long appendages, like tentacles, writhing about with several potions in all six arms.

"W-what happened to you?" Atlas said, horrified.

Hex cackled. "Oh, this? It would seem my Chemical X has a funny effect on ruler. My latent power has been released. My body is stronger than ever! I have become a god!"

Rube stepped forward. "Hex, your body can't handle the exertion of all of that power! You'll tear yourself apart!"

"As if you care! I have never felt more free! When Tony sees me, he'll have no choice than to pick me as his soulmate!" Hex looked around. "Where is he? Are you keeping him from me yet again?"

"No! He left to pursue a mission. He will be here."

"Hm… okay then. We'll wait."

"Wait? Why?"

"If Tony isn't here, what would be the point of showing off my new abilities? I want him to be present to watch my mutants tear all of you apart. With all of you gone, he'll have no one else to go to… except me." She held her cheeks in delight at the sheer thought of it all.

Slag stepped forward. "You're insane if you think Tony would just run to you if you kill us!"

Ash quickly pulled Slag back.

Hex chuckled. "I am a god. If he doesn't come willingly, I'm sure I can coax him. Besides, you won't even exist for much longer."

Steam rose from Slag's head as she ran. "Why you little-"

"Hold it!" A voice called. Both armies and their leaders looked up at the top of the mountain. There, a boy stood. Hex felt shiver and smiled as she found the one she had been waiting for. He looked down at them with determination in his eyes. His gaze landed on the newly transformed Hex. He cursed under his breath. A hand wa on his shoulder. "Is something wrong, My Child?" The Father said.

"It's just what I was afraid of… Hex drank her own mutant potion"

"May Notch bless her that she may not stay that way forever. Are you sure you are ready?"

"Father, I should be asking you that. Are they even up for this?"

"My Son, we are indebted to you for what you did to save our village so long ago. Besides, I still know a trick or two." Father said, brandishing an enchanted sword.

Tony chuckled, but sighed. "You know the risk?"

"Yes. We all stand by you, My Child."

"Then there's no time like the present." Tony raised his hand and hundreds of villagers suddenly appeared behind him. He knew the time had come. Another hand was on his looked and saw the guard who captured him on his first night in the village. The Guard nodded to him, reassuringly. Tony smiled and quickly lowered his hands, signaling the villagers to move in.

War was here.

AN: Hey guys! I was so excited to make this chapter that I just had to get it done! The next few chapters are going to be a real ride…


	31. War

The battle had begun. Swords swung and arrows flew as the mutants advanced on the army. Hex stayed back. Instead of fighting, she kept a close eye on Tony. Whenever a mutant aimed their assault at the boy, she would make them target something else. That didn't stop the boy from attacking. He carefully sliced the heads of the mutant creepers before fleeing from their exploding remains. It wasn't long before Tony caught on to what Hex was doing. '_If she keeps making them avoid me, the others will be overwhelmed! I gotta move faster!' _

Haze and Ashley spawned dozens of their slimes and magma cubes, causing the mutants to get stuck to the ground. Slag and Mire wrapped themselves around the trapped monsters, one by one, constricting them until they died. Haze began to sweat. "I don't know how much longer I can spawn. These monsters just keep coming!"

Ashley smirked. "Don't tell me you're getting tired already, Haze. I was just getting warmed up!"

"Is that a challenge?" Haze asked, spawning several more slimes.

"Oh yeah!" Cupa yelled from atop a ghast. Misery was behind her, spawning more of the crying creatures. Cupa had a malicious grin as she spawned creepers on the ground, initiating a chain of explosions that decimated the mutants. "This is too fun! I'm having a blast! Hahaha!"

"I'm glad… you're having fun…" Misery sobbed.

A mutant skeleton stepped forward, rearing back a bow. Hamilton backed away, frozen in fear. She suddenly felt a stone wall behind her. She was trapped. The skeleton roared as it prepared itself… but suddenly stopped. The creature felt something chew on his spinal cord and looked to see zombie. The skeleton grunted before swatting the mob away… only for another to show up.

Then another. And another. Soon, a horde of zombies surrounded the skeleton, frantically tearing it apart. Hamilton looked in confusion as the skeleton died and Yaebi appeared, holding out a hand. "Come on!"

The zombie pigman blushed before grabbing Yaebi's hand. "Th-thank you!"

"Whatever! Just don't get in my way!" The zombie boy said, blushing.

Skelli and Skelly stood at the back of the human army, firing arrows in quick succession at their adversaries. In front of them, Lattice and Lacy spun a thick, short wall of webs to protect the girls from any incoming arrows. Skelly looked at Lattice. "We need more spiders for my skeletons! Quickly!"

"No problem, Bonehead!" The spider girl spawned in dozens of her spiders, allowing their skeletal counterparts to hop on before heading into battle.

"Foul demon! Burn in the Nether!" Grace yelled as she finished off a mutant zombie. Grace led a small section of the village army through the mutants, cutting through one after the other. Grace sheathed her golden sword to take a breath. Father approached her. "Are you alright, My Liege?"

"Yes. This crusade is quite exhausting and I fear my sword can't take much more of this brutality."

"Let's hope this battle ends soon. Those mutants have no need of breakable weapons. I fear we may be overwhelmed."

Grace frowned and looked at the battlefield. "Then perhaps we should thin their numbers!" She ran into the battle, sword glinting in the sunlight.

Terra and Claret stood back-to-back, slowly becoming surrounded. Terra raised her diamond hoe and smirked. "These guys are tough. I don't know how much longer we'll last."

Claret rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe if you used a weapon that wasn't completely useless, we might be able to hold them off!"

"Hey! We can't all spend our days chopping meat for a living! You have your blades, I have my hoe and shovel."

The girls began to sweat as the mutants began to advance. Suddenly, a large grey blur ran at one of the beasts with incredible speed, knocking it over. The fallen creature caused a domino effect, knocking over and dazing the other mutants. The grey blur, Ingot, stood and nodded to the two villagers before running up to a mutant enderman, grabbing its arms and forcing it back. Ingot's eyes glowed red. "Mob detected!"

"Take this! Take that! Hahaha!" Saber said, frantically swinging her sword. Her body moved with sleek elegance as she spun around the monster's attacks only to reply with her own. The sword was an extension of herself as she moved fluidly. Rube stood a little ways away, keeping her own sword in front of her as she gallantly thrusted her sword. Saber spotted her and formed a plan. "Rube! Give me a boost!"

Saber ran at her sister and jumped. Rube cupped her hands and lifted as Saber landed on them. The blacksmith flew high, slashing at the necks of several mutant creepers, destroying them. Rube nodded in approval. "I must say, Saber, that was exceptional form."

Blazette flew high above the battlefield, making sure to have a clear view of her adversaries. Minny was on her back, looking down at the armies. She raised her hands and closed her eyes.

The mutant army pushed forward, roaring and screeching. The noise was cut short as the sky suddenly became mutants looked up only to be met with thousands of silverfish latching onto them and attacking. Minny grinned and gave Blazette a high-five.

So far, the battle was at a stalemate. For every mutant killed, two more would come back. Humans and villagers alike were slain, only to respawn. Sometimes, they never did. Hex watched in glee as her subjects attacked with such ferocity. However, she knew she shouldn't waste time. It was time for the main event. Hex snapped her fingers and a giant screech rang through the warzone. "What in Notch's name is that?" Rube asked.

From atop the mountain, the Enderdragon smirked. "Finally. It's here."

High above the battlefield, a creature suddenly flew around at supersonic speeds. It shot flaming skulls at the human and village armies, obliterating entire sections. Blazette was nearly knocked from the sky as the creature circled the area. Eventually, the creature slowed its travel and descended next to Hex. It was a rather tall girl, identical to Skelli in appearance, with two smoking skulls floating around her smoke-covered body. The Wither screamed at its prey, ready to attack.

The Enderdragon sped up to the Wither, knocking the beast into the mountain. The Wither screeched and knocked the dragon away. The Enderdragon chuckled. "I must say, I feel a bit bad for you. Being forced to transform into a being so far beyond you. Your mind must be straining… after all, you're still only a beast." The Enderdragon's eyes glowed bright violet. "I guess that makes two of us!" She quickly transformed into her dragon form and let loose a monstrous roar. The Wither replied with a scream of her own and charged.

Tony finished off a mutant zombie and looked around. The battle was beginning to go in Hex's favor. The Wither was released and, coupled with its enhanced power from Hex's potion, began to dominate the Enderdragon in battle. The mutants were beginning to overwhelm the rulers and the human and village armies were starting to show signs of fatigue. Tony gazed across the field until he saw Hex. She was gazing at her army with insane pride. The boy noticed she was staring at something. He followed her eyes and felt his heart drop. Atlas was fighting off a mutant zombie, successfully decapitating it. Unbeknownst to her, however, a mutant skeleton was aiming right at her. Tony's feet did the work before his brain could comprehend. "NO!" Atlas looked over to find the skeleton releasing the arrow.

Then everything happened in slow motion.

It was as if nothing else existed except for that skeleton, its arrow, and Atlas. The librarian's eyes widened as she found her legs were not cooperating. She couldn't move. Atlas could do nothing but watch as the arrow barreled towards her, knowing that once it hit her, she would never respawn…

Then she fell. Atlas hit the ground and looked back, only to see Tony in her place. She gasped as the colossal arrow hit its unintentional mark: the boy's torso. Tony's eyes widened as he was launched back by the force of the arrow and fell to the ground. Hex's eyes widened as she suddenly became silent. Her control over the mutants caused them to go silent as well. They became inactive and stopped moving.

Atlas shook herself from her frozen state and ran to Tony. As she approached, she noticed a strange red liquid leak from his mouth. The other rulers soon came as well, Slag and Mire being the first after Atlas. "T-Tony?" Atlas said.

The boy felt tears well up in his eyes. He was in insurmountable pain. He could barely breath. He tried to talk, but only coughed up blood instead. The rulers just stood around the boy, looking distraught, not knowing what to do. Even Yaebi had to look away from the boy's state. Tony took in a deep breath and grabbed Atlas' arm. The librarian, whose eyes were already beginning to well with tears, looked at the boy. Tony closed his eyes from the severe pain he felt. He mustered up every ounce of his strength and spoke.

"I'm… sorry..." Then his arm went limp.

Atlas felt her chest ache as she laid on the boy's chest, crying. Slag and Mire soon joined her and the other rulers looked down in despair. The humans, who had halted their assault on the now-frozen mutants took their helmets off. The Father approached Tony and kneeled whispering a quiet prayer. Unbeknownst to everyone, Hex slowly approached behind them. Her magical tentacles shoved everyone away from Tony as she came closer to him. Her face showed no emotion as several tears fell from her glowing eyes. Hex turned and faced the mutant skeleton that shot. She slowly levitated towards it and raised a hand to its head. As if on cue, the creature immediately exploded into bits of bone. Hex looked at her crowd of mutants.

Then she screamed.

Darkness. There wasn't really much else or if there was, Tony couldn't see it. He looked around, frantically searching for anything that could tell him where he was. '_I… I can't feel my legs… or my arms… or anything for that matter! W-where am I? The last thing I remember was…-' _His mind suddenly flashed with visions the rulers' distraught faces a giant arrow impaling him. He screamed as he quickly grabbed for his chest, only to find it completely fine. "Am… am I-"

Suddenly, a light flashed in front of him. Tony covered his eyes, slowly opening them once the intensity died down. He blinked a few times before the world came into focus. He gasped at the sight: The sky was bright white and islands of grass and mountains floated in the distance. Clouds floated inches above the ground. Tony felt a bit light-headed at the sight.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the fog. "Tony… I've been wondering when we'd meet."

Tony backed away a step. "Wh-who are you?"

The figure chuckled and stepped forward, offering Tony a better look. Surprisingly, the figure looked like a normal cube human. He wore a tattered brown shirt with matching grey pants. His eyes seemed glossy, almost doll-like and his beard was pitch black. "Excuse me. I should have introduced myself a long time ago."

The figure held out a hand. "I am Notch."

AN: After a bit of thinking, I decided to adjust the chapter a bit. Happy Holidays everyone!


	32. Creative

Hex screeched and screamed as tears fell from her face. She sped through the battlefield, tearing apart any creature in her path. Rube called for the human and village armies to retreat up the mountains while the rulers stayed behind to deal with Hex. Slag, Mire, and Atlas stayed next to Tony's body, grieving. Skelli stood in front of them, looking on in horror at Hex's rage. The witch was destroying the mutants she worked so hard to create. The monsters could do nothing but stand still as Hex was still their master. The witch's saddened rage had fully enveloped her. Soon, her mutants would all be dead, leaving nothing but the rulers to feel the vast expanse of her rage.

Tony hesitantly shook the strange man's hand. "Notch? I've heard that name…"

Notch laughed. "Ha! I would be surprised if you didn't! I did create this world, after all."

"Created? So, are you a god?"

"Hm… I've never thought about it. What do you think?"

"I… I think I'm in a strange world with a strange man. How did I get here?"

"This is the Aether. It's where everyone goes when they die."

Tony felt his heart drop. "_Die_? So it's true. That arrow killed me."

"In a sense, yes." Notch said, putting his arms behind his back. Notch suddenly walked the other way, gesturing the boy to follow. Tony rushed beside him. "Where are we going?"

"Just to watch. Tony, do you know why you were brought to this world?" Notch asked. The boy remained silent, Notch continued. "You yearned to be meant for something more, to have meaning. You weren't the only one. Millions of humans wish for the same thing."

"What made me so special?"

"Well, that is difficult to ascertain. I could have chosen a plethora of people, all having a very different end to their story. In short, my boy, you aren't anymore special than the other humans that could have come. Well, except for one thing."

"And what's that?"

Notch put his hands on Tony's shoulders. "_You _came. You were chosen." Tony let the being's words hang as he let them sink in, unable to form a response. Notch continued. "So, now I see you have a choice to make."

"I… I do?"

"Indeed. Tony, you belong to another world. Unfortunately, you died in _this _world. As of right now, you are in a… limbo of sorts. Which is why you need to decide…" Notch waved his hands and two openings appeared. One was a window into a world Tony used to know, with some familiar faces. The boy raised a hand. "Is… is that-"

"Yes. That is your mother. Ever since you disappeared, she's been distraught. The whole family has been. They're beginning the healing process, but it's painful nonetheless." Notch explained. Tony looked into the window, watching as his mother served breakfast to his siblings and father. They looked happy. Tony felt tears well up in his eyes, but then he noticed the other window. It showed Hex in a blind rage. "What's happened?"

Notch shook his head. "Hex saw you die. Her love for you has caused her to explode in rage and depression. You were the first one to understand her in years. Without you, she has nothing left. Her plans for vengeance are for naught now that no one can share her victory. She will continue to destroy any and all living things in her path. I'm afraid even Herobrine won't be able to hold the world seed together."

"This isn't fair. She isn't a bad person."

"I know. I have seen the good in her. She needs to be reminded. However, you have a much grander problem. Tony, you must make a choice: I can send you back to your world. You will wake up on the morning you disappeared, all of this will be nothing but a dream that can be forgotten. The other option is that I can allow you to respawn here. You'll be resurrected, but doing so would tie you to this world permanently. You would never be able to go back home. You would be a permanent resident of Minecraftia." Tony felt his head spin as he looked back and forth between the windows. Both showed a life he could have and one he would leave behind.

It was time for a decision.

Hex was nearly done with her slaughter of the mutant army, having just torn the Wither limb from limb. Her screams echoing throughout the mountain. The rulers could only watch in horror. Rube approached Skelly. "The humans and villagers are all evacuated. You should gather the mobs rulers and escape."

Skelly looked at her incredulously. "And what about all of you?"

"Hex is our sister. Perhaps her rage will calm if she fights us first."

Skelly held her bow tightly. "We aren't leaving you. We've all been through too much to just run away. Hex needs to be stopped NOW." The rulers all stood beside her, ready for battle. Unbeknownst to all of them, a figure rose behind them. "Stand down."

The rulers were suddenly frozen as the voice seemed to resonate within each of them. They all turned to see a lone figure floating a few inches above the ground. He seemed to glow as he hovered toward the group. Atlas felt her breath get caught in her throat, but Slag and Mire said what everyone was thinking. "T-Tony…"

The boy looked ahead with a stern look on his face. He focused on the raging Hex, who didn't seem to notice him. He looked at his hands a he felt this newfound power. He remembered his conversation with Notch.

"_Tony, are you sure?" _

"_I… I'm sure. I need to fix this. I can't just leave them." _

"_Very well, but it would not be wise to approach Hex in her current state. She would sooner destroy you before recognizing you. Therefore, I am going to give you a… a gift of sorts. Tony, I am going to give you the power to use a form I have only granted to one other person in the history of this world. It is a form of immense power and creativity." Notch said. He placed a hand on Tony's shoulder and closed his eyes. The boy was confused until he felt a sudden rush of power and knowledge flow through him. Notch took his hand away and smiled. "I think you know what you need to do." _

_Tony smiled. "Yes. Thank you." _

"_Be warned, young one. This form is powerful, so I must limit its use. Once you have won this battle, I will take the power away. Don't worry, you can call upon it whenever you wish, but overusing it will have dire consequences. Good luck." _

Tony floated forward heading towards Hex. The mutant army was finished, now she focused on the being in front of her. Her unstable emotions removed all ability to recognize the person she faced. Hex immediately attacked. Her magic tentacles slashed at the boy, writhing and slicing with all of her might. The attacks just bounced off like nothing as Tony came nearer. Hex continued her assault, her magical aura barraging Tony with ferocity. The boy just continued advancing. Hex became desperate as she let out one final scream and threw a powerful punch…

… which Tony caught.

Tony quickly wrapped his arms around the witch, embracing her. She writhed and hissed until she heard him talk. "Hex… please."

"T-To… ny…"

"Hex, come back to me. Don't stay like this…"

"To… ny… dead…"

"No! Hex, look at me! I'm not dead! Please come back to me…"

Hex stopped struggling as she slowly pulled her arms around the boy. "To… ny… Tony... "

"Yes, it's me."

Hex looked at the boy's face and froze. It was really him. Her eyes welled up with tears as she buried her face into the boy's chest. Tony sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're back." He felt his power leave him. This war was finally over. Hex cried. "You're glad _I'm _back? I… I saw you die… it was all my fault…"

"Sh… you aren't bad. I know that. You've been so alone for so long. All of that anger… it changed you. I'm just glad you're okay."

Hex wiped her tears away and laughed. She looked into Tony's eyes and vice versa. The boy felt a sense of relief as he looked at her. He saw the good witch, the one who was kind and misunderstood. Gone was the witch who had craved vengeance. Hex quickly leaned forward and kissed the boy passionately. They stayed like that for a few moments before Hex pulled away, blushing. Tony, whose face was equally red, suddenly felt extremely exhausted. The power coursing through his veins had dispersed, leaving him feeling the real effects of the strain his body was put under. Tony fainted in Hex's arms, a smile on his face.


	33. Epilogue

Light shone into the window, landing on the face of the unconscious boy. Tony stirred and tried to put a hand up to block the sun, only to gasp in pain. He felt extremely sore. He slowly moved his neck around the room, trying to remember what happened before he passed out. Images of Notch and his "Creative" blessing and Hex flowed through his brain. Tony laid his head down and smiled. The ordeal was over. Everything would be okay. He suddenly noticed the sound of light breathing on the bed. He looked over to find Hex laying on the side, asleep. Tony smiled and nudged her. The witch stirred before her eyes fluttered open. She smiled as she saw Tony. "I see you're awake." She seemed solemn.

Tony nodded. "Yeah… I can't believe it's all over."

"Yeah…"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Hex sighed. "Tony… all of those terrible things I did… I…" Hex looked at her hands in disgust. "I caused so much destruction. I even killed you! Why did you still save me?"

Tony smiled and was about to answer, but a new voice was in the room. "Because it wasn't you, Hex." Rube entered the room, smiling warmly at her sister and the boy. "It was the rage in your heart that overtook you. Years of neglect and loneliness… because of us." The other rulers entered the room, looking down. Hex felt a bit nervous, but Tony held her hand in reassurance.

Skelly stepped forward. "Tony, do you remember when we first met?"

Tony chuckled. "Yeah. It seems like forever ago."

"Well, Hex probably already told you about her ordeal with us. We treated both of you so badly and left you for dead. The only difference is that you forced yourself to trust us while Hex decided not to trust anyone. It can be reasonably assumed that if we were better to her, none of this would have happened."

Atlas stepped forward. "Hex, I think the main point of all of this is, well… we're sorry." The rulers all echoed the apology, baffling the young witch. Hex was silent for a long time, worrying everyone. Suddenly, she began to cry. Hex tried to wipe her tears away, but to no avail as more came out. "I-I've been wanting t-to hear those words for s-so l-long!"

Rube quickly approached her sister and embraced her, wiping away some of the tears. "Hex… it's alright now. We should have helped you…"

The other village rulers quickly joined in the hug, happy that everything was over. Tony smiled and tried to sit up, but he winced in pain. Atlas noticed and went beside the boy, aiding him. She smiled. "I'm… glad you're back."

"I'm glad to be back… and I'm here to stay."

"What do you mean?"

Tony began to relay the events after his death, such as meeting Notch and the decision he made. Skelli smirked. "So you decided not to run away. You stayed to finish what we all started."

"No… it was all of us. We all had a hand in these events. What matters now is that we're all here for you." Tony said, grabbing Hex's hand.

Rube stood and dusted off her robe. "Now that we are all here and conscious, some thanks are in order. Tony, King Steve has heard of the victory and sends his deepest gratitude. He's also said that you are welcome to stay in the human settlement."

"Really? That's… quite the reward." Tony said, amazed.

Rube continued. "He isn't the only one to send his thanks. Tony, on behalf of all of the rulers of Minecraftia, we want to express our deepest gratitude. You not only stopped a threat and saved our world, you also gave us back our sister. Tony, I welcome you to our Village Castle anytime… after it is rebuilt, of course."

Skelly stepped forward. "You are also welcomed to the Shade Village anytime."

Yaebi stepped forward, his mouth scrunched into a frown and his eyes closed. He approached the boy and held his hand out. "This is the most difficult thing I've ever had to say, but… maybe not all human are jerks…"

Tony shook the zombie's hand. "Thanks, Yaebi… I think."

Hex looked at her hands. "So, I guess you are going to be living in the human settlement now?"

Tony thought for a moment. "Hm… no. Since I'm going to be staying here, I might as well start exploring. I want to learn as much a possible!"

Tony's soreness suddenly began to subside a bit as a cool feeling suddenly enveloped him. Green slime covered him like a blanket and, out of the center, Mire's head rose. "I bet you would need a companion for travelling!"

Slag suddenly rose from the side of the bed. "Or two?"

Hex scoffed. "You two couldn't protect him out there. He needs someone proficient in potions."

"I think he'd value a warrior more than a witch or a slime." Skelli said.

Atlas put her arms around Tony. "I think we should let him rest. Travelling should be the last thing on his mind."

Slag and Mire pouted. "Don't you try to charm him into taking you!"

Tony sighed and smiled. "Oh boy…"

The room was a dark void, lacking as much in light as it was life. Only two creatures stood in this cavern: a man with glowing white eyes and his servant, a girl with similar features. H watched as her master conducted its experiment. In its hand was a glowing glass of Chemical X. Herobrine levitated the glass into the air and closed his eyes. The mixture began to change color sporadically. Purple changed to red changed to orange. The colors continued to shift until finally resting on bright white. Herobrine looked at the new creation and made a noise similar to laughing. H just looked on in neutrality.


	34. Afterword

Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for reading! I hope it was as good for you to see as it was for me to write! I honestly was not prepared for the incredible support this story received! In truth, you all are as much to thank for it. Your wonderful suggestions in the reviews have aided me through writer's block on more than one occasion. So, thank you!

Now onto the more relevant issues. You may have noticed the cliffhanger at the end of the story. To answer the burning question: Yes, there will be a sequel… at some point. I have other stories that need tending to, and I want to finish at least one of them before completely starting something new. That isn't to say I don't care for this story. I have put so much thought into the timeline of this story, I was planning on making it a trilogy. Alas, only time will tell.

Although, I was tossing around the idea of making mini stories or oneshots based on this story's universe. Maybe a funny truth or dare? I can only imagine the crazy (and spicy) suggestions you all would make or that! Maybe…

Just to recap, I want to thank all of you for reading and sticking around to the end! There will be more to this story, as it is far from over…

**UPDATE**: The Truth or Dare story is now up and open to suggestions! Enjoy!


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